The Girl At The Doorstep
by springtimesadness
Summary: Sophie. A name commonly heard around dark guilds, but unfamiliar to anyone else. As soon as her mangled, damaged body is found at the doorstep of Fairy Tail, everything changes. She awakens in the infirmary to the face of Gray Fullbuster, along with the rest of his team. Sophie soon realizes she may be In love, but her past of secrets and agony is holding her back.
1. The Girl

**AN: Hello Everybody! Welcome to my first story that I've ever published online!**

**I've had this story idea for a while now, and decided based on my love of reading on this site, I should try and write something for this site! I would love ANY sort of feedback, just so I know what I can approve upon and make this story better!**

**So, without further ado, I present to you, "The Girl At The Doorstep"!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fairy Tail. No matter how many birthday candles I wish on. Hiro Mashima does.**

UNKNOWN P.O.V.

Running. That's all I've been doing for the past couple days. I can't let them catch me this time. I'm almost positive I'll be killed if they catch me. At least then I'll see Jai… My wounds are causing unbearable pain. They've never been this rough. With me at least. I need to find a proper way to bandage them. I'm on course to faint with the amount of blood I've slowly losing. It's already getting slightly on the blurry side. Not that I mind. I can still see, so I can still run.

It's funny though. I never expected my life to turn out like this. I had thought I'd always be the sweet, caring girl that everybody loved. I still was, in a way. But not to them I'm not. I could go to hell for all they cared. Everybody hated me. Everybody was trained to hate me, and punish me for every little thing I did. I never wanted to be like this. A kidnap victim, a current runaway, a motherless, and brotherless, child. I was going to turn my life around. I was going to stand up for myself, try and stay positive, make friends, and life a long, happy, life. I just didn't know if I would live to try.

NORMAL P.O.V.

"FIGHT ME GRAY!" A pink-haired young man screamed in the direction of a raven-haired, almost naked young man.

"SHUT UP NATSU! IS FIGHTING THE ONLY THING YOU CARE ABOUT?!" he snapped back at him.

That's when the fists started to fly. A once verbal fight had turned physical. A common feat in Fairy Tail. Soon more people, mainly males, joined in on the fighting while sitting at the counter watching, were the ladies of the guild.

"Can I get a water Mira?" A small, messy-blue haired girl asked.

"Of course Levy!" Mirajane, a beautiful, white haired mage replied.

As Levy was sipping on her glass of water, one of her best friends, Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit mage, was watching the current brawl.

"They never learn huh?" She asked.

"Nope. But that's Natsu and Gray for you. Always starting trouble." Levy smiled.

"SILENCE!" a new voice bellowed from the second floor of the guild. Makarov. Fairy Tail's 3rd guild master. He sat on the railing, swaying his legs over the edge.

"You children do nothing but cause a ruckus don't you?" he fumed.

"Sorry Gramps. Gray was being a chicken again." Natsu rubbed the back of his head.

"Was Not! It's your fault you're always begging to fight everybody Hot Head!" he retorted.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME ICE PRINCESS?" he yelled back, fire engulfing his hands.

They started throwing punches again.

"Why do I even try and break them up?" Makarov sighed, hopping down from the rail.

"NATSU! GRAY!" a loud voice boomed. Erza Scarlet. A S-Class mage, who's strict personality scared most everybody.

"Were you two fighting again?" she demanded.

The two flung their arms over each other's shoulders.

"N-No Erza! Two best friends would never fight with each other? Right Gray?" Natsu squeaked.

"Right!" he agreed.

Erza didn't buy it. She hit both of them over the head with incredible force, leaving two large bumps on each of their heads.

"BEHAVE." she scolded the two mages.

Lucy and Levy giggled. Erza was so strict with the two boys. Levy had told Lucy the 3 had been close friends ever since they were young children. They both knew she held high expectations for the two. So far, the day was normal.

UNKNOWN P.O.V.

"What's that? A guild?" I thought, my vision clearly failing due to blood loss.

"Maybe they can help me out."

It was quite an effort to walk, let alone move know. My body was covered in everything under the sun. Gashes, dirt, brusies, scuff marks, you name it. So moving was quite the struggle. I moved towards the guild in a combination of limping, staggering, dragging, and stumbling. The sight was defiantly un-human.

I slowly made my way closer and closer to the supposed guild. I was on the verge of fainting now. My vision was pretty much usless, and now black was edging my eyes. I needed to get there though. I needed help. Before I knew it,  
I was at the door. I couldn't open it. They were to much eight for my weak body to handle.

"Is this the end?" I thought. I closed my eyes, letting my now-frail body slam into the door as a last ditch effort to attract help. Nobody came. I let out a sigh and let the darkness envelope me. It was over. I had failed. At least Jai would welcome me with open arms.

*~*~*~*~*~*~* NORMAL P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~*~*

The guild heard a startling, THUMP, at the door to the guild. Everyone thought they had imagined it, so nobody knew if it was anything worth checking out. They glanced at each other, unsure of what to do.

"I'll get it!" Levy called out. Dozens of eyes shot towards her and followed her as she got up and waked to the door.

"Be Careful!" Lucy called out to her. She waved a hand at her.

"You're worrying about nothing Lu-chan." she called over her shoulder.

She walked up to the door, and cracked it open, peering out. She scanned the horizon. Nothing. That's when she glanced down. She let out a terrified yelp.

"What is it Levy?" Jet and Droy rushed to her side. They stopped in their tracks, and their eyes widened in shock. People began running to the door trying to get a glimpse of what had frightened Levy.

It was a mangled, battered, bloody body of a girl.

People began to back away. Natsu walked up to her, Gray, Lucy, Erza, and Happy trailing behind him. He crouched next to her, his eyes looking her over.

"She's alive." he told the guild. "But not for long." he picked the girl up, and carried her over to the guild's infirmary, where he placed her on a bed. Wendy ran into the room.

"I'll help!" she squeaked out. Wendy was a sky-dragon slayer, who mainly used support magic, including healing magic. She walked up to her, a green light emiting from her hands. She held her hands over her body and began. Very slowly, did her wounds start to close one by one.

"She'll live." Wendy observed. "As long as she rests, eats, and doesn't strain herself." Lucy grabbed some blankets, and draped them over her. She was unconscious at the moment. They'd need to ask her several questions when she was alert.

"Let's leave her be for a while." Erza told them.

As they stood up to exit the room. Gray turned back to this girl. Something about her was pulling him to her. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

**AN: There it is! The first chapter of my first story! It hope you guys liked it!**

**It's O.K. In my opinion, but I can live with it. Don't forget to leave a review! **

**No matter how short, long, praise, or criticism it is. I don't care! I love ANY type of feedback!**

**UPDATE: I re-wrote this chapter because it used to suck. **

**It still is not as good as some of the other ones, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. **

**Until next time!**

**-springtimesadness **

**So? Whatcha' think? I thought It turned out pretty well for a first story!**

**It's quite short for my liking, so I'll try and improve upon that. But I'd LOVE to know what you the readers thought of it! Any sort of review is appreciated! I'll try and update as soon as I can, and I have a few pre-written chapters already, so expect updates quickly!**

**UPDATE: LOOKING BACK I REALIZE JUST HOW BAD THIS CHAPTER IS! PLEASE KEEP READING! I'M GOING TO RE-DO THIS CHAPTER! UNTIL THEN, PLEASE DON'T HAVE A BAD FIRST IMPRESSION OF THIS STORY! WHILE THIS CHAP. IS LESS THAN 1,000 WORDS, MY LATEST IS ALMOST AT 3,000 WORDS!**

**Until Next Time!**

**- springtime sadness ****J**


	2. Sophie The Light Mage

**AN:** **Ello' again readers and/or writers! I have returned with Chapter 2 of this story! Not much to say really, other than enjoy and leave any sort of feedback! **

**Lucy: Hi spring!**

**Jesus! You've broken the fourth wall I see. You rebel. **

**Lucy: You seemed lonely, sitting at your computer all day.**

**It's not all day.. Heheh. It's only a couple hours… WHATEVER! Do the disclaimer!**

**Lucy: spingtimesadnes does not own Fairy Tail. No matter how much she begs. Hiro Mashima Does. She does own her OC though.**

**Thanks Luce! ONWARD WITH THE STORY!**

OC Description:

Name: Sophie McCloud

Age: 17

Magic: Light Magic

Hair Colour: Pink (like adult Meredy)

Eye Colour: Emerald Green

Personality: Spunky, Excellent Fighter, Optimistic, Likes to see the good in things

NARRATOR P.O.V.

Gray examined the girl closely. She had creamy colored skin, with long, thick pink hair which trailed down to her waist. That's when he noticed it. The guild mark. Not just any guild mark though. A white, guild mark on her left thigh. He let out a faint gasp, his eyes widening. Lucy noticed his sudden movement.

"Gray… what's the matter?" she asked him curiously.

He pointed to her thigh. Lucy immediately saw the guild mark, and then pointed it out to Natsu, Happy and Erza, who had the same reaction. Only then, were they ushered out the door by the staff who told them that they needed to leave.

"S-she's from Eisenwald." Lucy stated. "Why would she be here then? At Fairy Tail?" Natsu was already running towards the door with Happy.

"And where may you two be off to?" Erza called.

"We're going to get revenge on Eisenwald for doing this to her." Natsu called over his shoulder, anger in his voice.

"Don't You Da…" Erza started Gray silencing her.

"Let him." He calmly said. "We'll find out about the girl, and let him cool down a little." The 3 split up after that. Erza and Lucy went to the bar, where a very concerned looking Mirajane was, while Gray snuck off to the infirmary. There was something about that girl that intrigued him. Not just the fact that she was from Sabertooth, but something else.

When he arrived, there was but a single staff member in the room besides the girl. The staff member noticed Gray and smiled.

"Come on in. I'm leaving for now. She just needs rest."

Gray nodded and entered the room, while the staff member left. He sat down in a chair beside the bed the girl was on. Her wounds were bandaged, and her hair was cleaned, along with the rest of her body. Now that it was clean, her hair had a brilliant shine to it, a very sharp contrast to the dirty, matted colour it had before. She was asleep, and appeared to be dreaming about something. She would twitch occasionally and would let out a soft whimper or two. Gray felt a slight sense of protectiveness over her, and anger to whatever, or whoever for that matter, had done such a horrendous thing to her. While he was staring at the girl, she instantly shot up like a bullet, now fully awake. Gray was startled. He had never expected such a sudden movement from a girl who was unconscious up until then.

"Where am I?" her voice waved, a sense of fear, and curiosity, edging it.

"You're in the Fairy Tail Infirmary." Gray told her.

"F-Fairy Tail?" Her voice's pitch raising.

"Yep." Gray stated.

"How did I get here?" She asked, now very curious.

"Well. Funny story actually." he said sustaining a chuckle. "We were returning from a mission, when we found you, well, your body, on our doorstep covered in injuries and filth. We took you here so we could heal some of your injuries."

"Why would heal me? Or help me for that matter." She said longingly. Gray was taken aback by this. Was she, ashamed that they had helped her?

"Because in Fairy Tail, we never turn our backs on our friends." He told her.

"Well, thanks, I guess. But you didn't need to heal me." she said.

"W-What? I don't understand?" Now it was Gray's turn to be confused.

"I was told to never ask for help. Since that was basically admitting you were weak." She said quietly.

"Bullshit! Who told you that?" Gray scoffed.

"Erigor." the girl said even quieter than before. She deeply feared the incredibly strong mage, and followed orders diligently, afraid of being harmed.

"So you're from Eisenwald than." Gray asked her, pretending he didn't already know. The girl's face shadowed as she looked away, obviously ashamed. "May I ask your name?" he asked.

"Sophie." The girl instantly brightened. "Sophie McCloud".

"Sophie." Gray said, getting used to the name. "I like it. My name's Gray." he told her. "Like the colour?" she giggled. "Yeah." he sighed.

"I like you Gray." Sophie smiled. "Can we be friends?"

"Of course." Gray smiled back at her. "What magic do you use?" He asked her, changing the subject. "Light Magic." she told him. "that's pretty ironic coming from a girl who's part of a dark guild. he observed. "What about yourself?" Sophie asked Gray, suddenly interested again.

"Ice-Make." he told her.

"WHERE ARE YA ICE PRINCESS SHOW YOURSELF AND FIGHT ME!" A voice could be heard yelling in the distance.

"Natsu." Gray said, obviously very annoyed. "Sorry bout' this." he apologized to Sophie. "I'll be back later." and with that, he was gone.

Sophie stared at her thigh, where her Eisenwald guild insignia was located. She traced it with her finger, her brow furrowing. She had no respect for Eisenwald or any dark guild whatsoever, in fact she had tried to leave several times, which explained the many injuries had had sustained over her career. She had just recently tried leaving, and had gotten away, that is, until she fell unconscious, and was then awakened in this guild's infirmary.

She felt safe here. Much more than she ever had in Eisenwald. She liked a lot of the people here, she was just scared from past interactions with new people. She had taken a newfound liking to the man Gray. She couldn't believe even after discovering she was part of a dark guild, one which specialized in assassination, he could be so kind and understanding towards her.

She then proceeded to do something she hadn't done in years. She smiled.

**AN: Well there's Chapter 2! I liked it better than the first chapter. It was a longer, which was good, since I like em' when they're longer. (eyes widen at the realization of the innuendo) *nervous laughter***

**I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I do writing!**

**Anyways! Thanks for reading'! Love ANY type of feedback you throw at me! Expect a new Chapter VERY soon!**

**Until Next Time,**

**-springtimesadness **

**P.S. there's a poll on my profile if ya want to check that out! :)**


	3. Jai

**AN: Hello Everybody! Spring here coming at-cha with chapter 3 of, "The girl at the doorstep." Couple of updates and notifications/requests.**

**1. I'm thinking of renaming this story, and would like a few suggestions.**

**2. ****SOPHIE'S PAST GUILD HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM SABERTOOTH TO EISENWALD. ****I did this for the sake of better story development in the future, since Sabertooth isn't as much of a rival to Fairy Tail as much as a dark guild is. **

**And 3.**** I NEED OC'S! 5 AT THE MAXIMUM!**** I'll be choosing my top 5 favorite, to pose as members of Eisenwald for Sophie to be on the run from. They'll appear around Chapter 6-ish? That seems about right.**

**That's all for now! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: spingtimesadnes does not own Fairy Tail. No matter how much she begs. If she did, this wouldn't be fanfiction. It would happen. Hiro Mashima Does. She does own her OC though!**

OC Description:

Name: Sophie McCloud

Age: 17

Magic: Light Magic

Hair Colour: Pink (like adult Meredy)

Eye Colour: Emerald Green

Personality: Spunky, Excellent Fighter, Optimistic, Likes to see the good in things

…She then proceeded to do something she hadn't done in years. She smiled.

Sophie drifted off to sleep after that, exhausted from all the events that had occurred in the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~NIGHTMARE START~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

SOPHIE'S P.O.V.

I slunk through the undergrowth, quietly as I could.

"I have to stay quiet" I thought. "I can't be caught again."

SNAP! A squirrel snapped a branch a few meters to her right.

"SHIT!" I thought. If that squirrel blows my cover, he's never live to see the day again. My eyes widened in horror as the realization of what I had just said. Eisenwald was tainting my thoughts, something I had been striving to protect. I couldn't become one of the monsters that everyone feared. I didn't want people to scream, or run away when they heard my name. I heard voices in the distance, it were the Eisenwald guards currently on duty. I cursed the squirrel under my breath I trying to creep away quickly, to avoid punishment.

"SOPHIE." a voice yelled out. The guards had spotted me. I was in panic mode. I couldn't be caught. Not again. Punishment would be worse than last time. I sped away. I was quite fast, and agile, except for the fact that one of the guards pursuing me had slight experience in high-speed magic. He sped up to me, grabbing my neck. I choked in surprise.

"Erigor won't be too happy about this.. How many times has it been now?"

The guard said putting a finger under my chin. I gulped. Erigor was the one that would punish me for whenever I tried to escape. I couldn't believe they were still trying to contain me, you'd think they'd get bored after doing this time after time.

They dragged me back to the main room in the guild hall, throwing me on the floor in front of Erigor.

"Mmmm, what a naughty girl you've been Sophie." he said, narrowing his eyes in utter disgust as he looked down on me. I glanced up at him. I saw his weapon of choice, the scythe, on his back. He reached a hand up to it, pulling it free. He twirled it in his hand in almost a sort of teasing matter. When I least expected it, was when it happened. The scythe slashed across my back, tearing through my shirt, leaving a deep gash in it. The scythe's rain kept coming and coming. More people had come over to see what the commotion was about. Nobody liked me. Everyone was frankly annoyed on all my frequent escape attempts. The only reason they would stop me is that they didn't want information being leaked about the guild. By this time people had started to kick me in the ribs, head, and anywhere else they found vulnerable on my body. I bit my lip. I would not succumb to this torture. I would not show the guild I was being hurt by this, no matter how much of a lie that was. After many brutal minutes of endless torture, the blows and lashes stopped coming. People started to leave, upon getting bored of watching the blood pool from my wounds, and deep purple bruises blossom on my skin. Nobody said anything. I just dragged myself up with the bit of energy I had left, calling it a night. I dragged myself home, and just lay on the floor when I arrived. I didn't care about treating my wounds. I would rather die than try to escape again. Punishment was worse today. This was the first time people had joined I on it. Death seemed like a much better option at this point, rather than having to live perilously through that on a weekly basis. In fact, I hoped death would knock at my door tonight, and I'd let him in with open arms. Just before I slipped into unconsciousness, I saw someone's face flash in my mind.

"No." I gasped, my eyes fluttering closed.

It was him. My brother. The one killed by Erigor for trying to escape with me. I had gotten just as much torture as him, I was defiantly the stronger of us two without question though. Which explained why I didn't die. He was so fragile, and innocent. Neither he nor I were cut out to be in a dark guild. In fact, we were forced into the guild. My brother, Jai his name was, and I were kidnapped from the meadow we were training in. He had Light magic as well. Something we had both inherited from our mother. Other than that, and our eyes, Jai and I had NOTHING in common. You could barley tell we were related, let alone siblings. While I had long, thick, pink hair, Jai had short, spiky, mint colored hair. He was taller than me, but only by a little, and was younger than me by 14 months. While I kept a logical mind, being fluently able to distinguish between right and wrong, he would be persuaded easily. No matter how wrong of a choice something was, he would always succumb to it if the person had reasons. Jai was the quiet one. I was the loud one. Jai was the one to try and hold me back. I was the one who persuaded him to embrace new adventures and let loose. That was why being in Eisenwald didn't hit him as hard as me. He was blind to the difference of good, and bad. He wasn't keen on assassinations, but he still did them. I refused to kill anyone, only tagging along with Jai so I looked like a busy person. The day of our sneak out was a exciting one. I had convinced Jai to leave the guild with me. Like always, he agreed since I had reasons. We had just about made it, until a group returning from a job spotted us in town, and quickly became suspicious since Jai and I had some belongings with us, and I had been caught sneaking out before. Never less, we were caught, and beaten. Jai had never been beaten before, but I had. Jai was punished first, so I could watch. I remember him smiling at me before, to tell me it wasn't my fault, it was just a mistake we were caught. That's when my heart shattered. His smiles turned to screams. His frail body became adorned with endless amounts of cuts and bruises. He thrashed about, trying to free himself of this torture. The blood gushed from his wounds like a waterfall, and it was agonizing to watch. I choked back tears. Jai was in pain worse than I ever had been. Anyone could tell. That's when I heard his faint voice.

"Forgive yourse-" he started looking directly at me when his body convulsed and he stopped moving. Forever.

"Jai." I asked concern masking my face. "JAI?" I screamed. Not a sound came from him "JAI!" I said, pulling free of my restrainers rushing to his side. I shook him hard. "JAI WAKE UP!" I said. I glanced at his chest. He wasn't breathing. I put my head to his chest, where I would every night to hear the steady, reassuring beat of his heart that would lull me to sleep. Nothing was to be heard. My dear brother Jai, was dead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~NIGHTMARE END~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up screaming, sweat covering my forehead. I thrashed about, in search of Jai, only to realize it was a dream. I felt a hand on my should pushing me down against the bed I lay in. I struggled. It was just like the nightmare. Being pushed to the floor to be punished again. "JAI!" I screamed tears pouring endlessly down my face.

"Sophie! It's Gray! And Natsu and Lucy!" a soft, yet concerned voice told me. I stopped thrashed, sinking back into reality. Happy was being held in Lucy's arms, looking absolutely petrified at the sight he had witnessed.

"A-are you okay?" Lucy asked shakily.

I nodded a small nod. "I-it w-was a nightmare." I told her. I didn't know if I wanted to tell them about it.

"Do you want to tell us?" Natsu asked, trying to be careful around the subject.

I took a deep breath and mustered the courage. I told them, I told them everything. Even things that weren't in the nightmare. I told them my story.

My story of love, loss, and suffering.

**AN: Yea! 3****rd**** chapter! I liked this one too. I enjoy writing dream/ flashback scenes. SHOUTOUT TO THE 2 PEOPLE WHO'VE FOLLOWED THIS STORY! REX THE WOLF AND NIGHTINGALEDRIC666! It may not seem like much, but you two have motivated me in the little ways! Y'ALL ROCK!**

**REMEMBER I NEED OC'S! Submit them via. Review or PM**

OC Submission Form:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Magic:

Hair Colour:

Eye Colour:

Personality:

(Thanks to Emerald Dynamo for pointing out I didn't have a form.)

**Until next time!**

**-springtimesadness **


	4. Light Fight!

**AN: Hello Everybody! Spring is in the buildiiiiiiiiiiing! Heehee. Not much to Say other than 2 things. **

**1. I'm thinking about renaming this story. Can you leave suggestions?**

**2. I NEED OC'S! 5 At maximum. I'll choose my top 5 favorites, so leave those in the reviews!**

**That's it for now! Don't forget to review! I appreciate ANY type of feedback! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: springtimesadness doesn't own fairy tail. No matter how many birthday candles she wishes on. Hiro Mashima does.**

OC Description:

Name: Sophie McCloud

Age: 17

Magic: Light Magic

Hair Colour: Pink (like adult Meredy)

Eye Colour: Emerald Green

Personality: Spunky, Excellent Fighter, Optimistic, Likes to see the good in things

Everyone's eyes widened. They had intently listened to Sophie's back-story. They heard everything from the kidnapping of her and her brother, to her reluctance to do jobs, to her brother's murder, all the way until she woke up yesterday in Fairy Tail.

"I'm so sorry about Jai, Sophie." Lucy said, tears brimming her eyes. She was struggling to keep them in. The rest of the team nodded. Sophie smiled. She really was taking a liking to these people. It was completely different here than it was in Eisenwald. There was a knock at the door and Wendy and Carla entered, Wendy holding a set of clothes for Sophie, since hers were so badly damaged and dirty. Sophie took the clothes, and smiled at Wendy. Team Natsu left the room for her to change. She looked at the outfit. It was a simple black halter top, with a white bow on it, with ripped white short. She liked it. It was simple, yet nice. The only problem was that her Eisenwald mark stuck out like a sore thumb. She was going to have to do something about that. She changed quickly, and left the infirmary. The clothes covered most of her bandages, with the exception of her arms and legs. She silently walked into the guild hall where a fight containing most of the guild was going on. Mira noticed Sophie and motioned for her to sit at the bar. As she sat down, she ordered a simple vanilla milkshake. The people who weren't involved in the fighting came over to where she was sitting, concern lacing their eyes. Sophie noticed and let of a quiet laugh.

"I'm doing much better guys, there's no real need to be concerned! My name is Sophie McCloud in case you haven't heard." she smiled brightly. She didn't want anyone to baby her, so she had to reassure them.

"Great to hear! My name's Levy McGarden!" A girl with messy blue hair said, extending her hand. Sophie shook it. By then everybody were introducing themselves.

"There's so many people here! I don't know if I can remember them all." she thought, worrying for a second. She suddenly became aware of a few people staring at her guild insignia, whispering, a looking quite terrified. Sophie was no fool. She could she why they'd react like this. It hurt her feelings a little bit. She had worried about people finding out about her past in Eisenwald. A big man with long, black hair, and several piercing adorning his body approached her, looking quite interested in her.

"Eisenwald eh?" he asked inspecting her insignia.

"Erm. Y-yes." Sophie said, hanging her head to hide her face.

"Cool." he said, not looking a bit scared or threatened. In fact, he seemed fine with it. "I was part of a dark guild ya' know." he told her.

Sophie's head jerked up. "R-Really?" she asked, her deep green eyes widened.

"Yup. I was a member of Phantom Lord, along with Juvia over there." he said motioning to a girl with tightly curled blue hair jumping around Gray, obviously pestering him. "My name's Gajeel." he said. As Sophie outstretched her hand, he was gone.

"Weird." Sophie thought. "But at least I'm not the only one here who was part of a dark guild." She started at the guild mark, eyes narrowed. She was going to do it. Sophie placed her right hand over the insignia. Her hand began to glow with light energy. Her thigh burned like crazy, but she was going to prove she was though. She didn't blink, or close her eyes. Instead, she stared at her thigh, eyes glowing with reproach. She hated Eisenwald. She was doing this for Jai, knowing for a fact she'd want her to stop grieving and start living happily. The burning stopped. She lifted her hand shakily, peering t her thigh, she smiled.

Her Eisenwald guild insignia was gone.

People stared at her, their eyes bulging. She smiled again. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Erza asked, walking up to Sophie.

She knew what Erza was talking about. She hadn't thought about it until know. It had come so suddenly. She didn't know if she was ready just yet to join another guild so quickly after everything she'd been through. On the other hand, she knew that if Jai was here, he'd tell her to do it. She pondered the two scenario's in her mind. After a few deep moments of thinking, she glanced at Mira, who was smiling sweetly at her, along with most of Fairy Tail now that the fight had been broken up.

"Yes Erza." Sophie said. "I'd love to join Fairy Tail." her voice boomed with confidence, although in the back of her mind, there was a little uncertainty. Mira got out the stamp.

"Where would you like it?" She asked her. Sophie knew exactly where she wanted it.

"Left thigh please. White." She said, holding up her leg. She glanced around until she saw Gray. She let out a small smile. He was giving her a thumbs-up, while pride shone in his eyes. After Mira stamped her thigh, Sophie stared at the insignia, tracing it with her finger. She let out a sigh of relief. She was finally free of the burden that followed her everywhere. With that, life resumed to normal, that is until-

"FIGHT ME SOPHIE!" a voice yelled at her. Natsu. She should've known.

"Natsu, she's recovering. She's in no condition to fight." Gray told him.

"Don't worry about it! I'd love to fight you Natsu!" She said laughing.

They ran to the field in the back of the guild, most commonly used for fights like these. A lot of other guild members came out to watch the fight, including the master!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* SOPHIE'S P.O.V.!*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I ran out with Natsu to the field. It was a perfect day for fighting like this. The sun shone brightly, and a cool breeze relieved people of the hot temperature.

"I'm not going to hold back just because your injured Sophie!" Natsu exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Go right on ahead there buddy." I told him. "Expect the same from me."

**(PLEASE NOTE SOME OF SOPHIE'S ATTACKS AREN'T NECESSARILY REAL.)**

"BEGIN!" the master cried out. Natsu's hand were instantly engulfed in flames.

I summoned light around my hands. I was nervous about this fight. I hadn't actually fought or used magic in quite some time. I hadn't used it on jobs with Jai since I didn't want to kill anyone, and ever since he died, I rarely used it. I still had excellent training before hand though. I just had to remember it. I had to show my new guild that I was strong, and I deserved every chance I was given.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" he roared taking a hefty swing at me. I neatly jumped out of the way. I was confident in my defensive skills, for those were something I practiced almost every day.

"LIGHT BLAST!" I shot back. A blast of light shot towards Natsu. He wasn't as swift, but still dodged the attack.

"FIRE DRAGON WING SLASH!" He ran at me, flames engulfing his arms.

"LIGHT SHIELD!" I quickly formed a shield to protect myself. It did O.K. but I was sent flying back a few feet.

"BLINDING LIGHT!" I shot towards Natsu. "This should help." I thought. Right on queue, the blast hit him head on, he leaped back in surprise.

"I CAN'T SEE!" he cried out.

"RAIN OF LIGHT!" I shot out several shots of light, arcing them, and making them rain down on Natsu. He couldn't see them, so he couldn't dodge them, instead he was blindly running around. The attack hit him head-on.

"Yes!" I cried out, happy with my skill set so far. The blinding attack was wearing, as he started to counter me again.

"You're pretty good Sophie." he said, giving me a toothy grin. "Just means I get to fight harder. FIRE DRAGONS SWORD HORN!" He flew at me, knocking me in the stomach stunning me. The group of onlookers cheered. This was an excellent match-up.

"Light Summon, DAGGER!" Raising my hand up, I knew I was going to have to concentrate hard here. A dagger appeared in my hand. I focused. At Eisenwald, I was one of the best at stuff like this. I never missed a target when it came to throwing knives, arrows, and spears. I closed my eyes for a brief second, and threw the dagger. It hit Natsu directly in his chest. I made it so my throw wouldn't kill him, let alone cut him, rather inflicting the damage and pain it would've if it was real. He sunk to his knees in pain, but quickly got up again, trying to shake off the pain.

"LIGHT BLAST!" I yelled, he moved slowly this time, but still evaded the blast.

"Sorry Sophie, I didn't want to have to do this, but I have to win!" He roared. "CRIMSON LOTUS, EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!" gasps were heard. Most people wouldn't expect the fight to get this intense. Everyone knew Natsu's strength, but nobody knew mine. Everybody would think Natsu to be dominating, but instead, there was no clear stronger side. His attack hit me right in my bad side. I howled in pain, crippling to the ground while clutching my side. I lay on the ground stunned. I lay unmoving. Natsu's eyes widened. He didn't know he would end up doing this much damage.

"L-light summon, dual b-blades." I whispered ever so quietly, raising my hand only inches from the ground. Once they appeared, I leapt to my feet, instantly throwing a blade, while quickly followed by the other. The both hit Natsu, on in the stomach, the other in his shoulder. Once again, they didn't impale him, they just gave him the pain if it actually had. The spectators roared to life, engrossed in this epic turn of events. Natsu was barley hanging on. You could see the bruises, and scuff marks adorning his body, and his shaky posture.

"I forfeit." He said exasperatingly. He walked up to me, extending his hand. "Great fight though! Who knew you had it in ya!" He brightened, smiling from ear to ear! I shook his hand.

"Agreed! I'd love to fight again sometime!" I said smiling back at him. I got many "congratulations," and was asked, "fight me sometime okay?" several times.

I smiled. Again. Smiling was something that had come back to me. It had been lost in the Eisenwald days, and I was glad to have it back. My mother always told me I was destined to always be smiling, and making others smile, which is why I tried to stay positive through all the suffering in Eisenwald with Jai. After his death though, I never smiled. I hadn't smiled since then, which was almost 3 years ago. I walked back to the guild, and sat down at the bar, ordering my new favorite, a vanilla milkshake.

**AN: Well, that was a fun chapter to write! I'm pretty sure, "Light Summon" doesn't exist, but OH WELL! I hope you all enjoyed another chapter!**

**Don't worry guys! The fun stuff's just about to begin! Next chapter to be specific! **

**If you want to suggest a scene to be in an upcoming chapter, please feel free! I'd love to hear what you guys want in this story!**

**REMEMBER! I NEED OC'S AND NEW TITLE SUGGESTIONS!**

OC Submission Form:

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(Thanks to Emerald Dynamo for pointing out I didn't have a form.)

**That's all for this episode! Tune in next time for Chapter 5 of… "The Girl At The Doorstep." (except it probably won't be called that for long."**

**Until Next Time!**

**-spingtimesadness :) **


	5. Backstabbed! Literally!

**AN: Hello Everybody! Welcome to the 5 chapter of, this story. I'm in the process of renaming this story so.. Yeah. THANKS TO ****XxXKiaAmaratsuXxX**** for following! **

**Before I go on, Thank You to everybody around the world that's viewed this story! It's really amazing that one story I started typing out of boredom had been seen in so many different places! ILY all!**

**3 of my own characters are introduced here, but so far, this is a one-chapter stand, unless I need them again, they don't count as 3 of the 5 OC'S I need unless I need them to be,.**

**REMINDERS! **

**1. Leave a suggestion for a new title to this story! I need some help.**

**2. I REALLY DO NEED OC'S! I don't want to create 5 new characters if I don't have to, instead I want some of you guys to be involved in this story. **

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(Thanks to Emerald Dynamo for pointing out I didn't have a form.)

**That's enough for this author's note.**

**Disclaimer: springtimesadness does not own fairy tail, no matter how many birthday candles she wishes upon. Hiro Mashima does. **

Sophie sat at the bar, with her new favorite, a vanilla milkshake. Word was spreading like wildfire on her fight with Natsu. She was proud of herself for sure, after all, she hadn't used magic for several years.

"I'll have to do some training later on." she thought. She wasn't quite used to how everything went in the guild, after all it had been only about 2 days since she joined. The constant fights that broke out scared her, but she joined in on one, and admitted she enjoyed it.

After finishing and paying for her milkshake, Sophie got up and walked over to the request board. She was going to have to make money somehow. Jai and her would split rewards on jobs, and after going on so many together, she had enough money to cover her house's rent for a few years. She was now completely out of money, and leaving Eisenwald sure didn't help. She scanned the board, looking for a job that caught her eye. She held back laughs at a few. The assassination requests at Eisenwald sure were more ferocious than these. Come on, Removing a curse on a stick? Hunting for worms? These were hysterical. Her eyes kept skimming the board. None looked appealing at the moment.

"Lookin' for a job eh'?" A voice from behind her asked. Gray.

"Yep!" Sophie told him, her eyes not leaving the board. Gray noticed Sophie stifling a laugh.

"What's so funny?" He asked her, eyebrows raised.

"These jobs are just so different compared to Eisenwald's. We mainly did assassinations, but come on, some of these are embarrassing." she told him, her green eyes shimmered.

"Well, when you put it like that." Gray muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

Sophie kept looking for a job. She wanted her first job at fairy tail to be a good one, and wouldn't settle for a child's-play job.

"Help me find a job Gray." she turned to him, excitement shining on her face.

"Alright then. Do you want to do a job with me?" He asked, a little shyly.

"Why not!" She proclaimed, jumping about. "The more the merrier!"

Gray let out a small smile. He couldn't believe this girl had been a member of a dark guild, let alone one that specialized In assassinations.

He began looking over the board with her.

"No… No… No… OH!" she cried out. She pointed to a job request, looking at Gray expectantly.

"Eliminate a rouge band of former dark guild members." He said. His face paled. "D-do you really want to do a job involving a dark guild? Considering everything that's happened in the past few days?" he asked her, his voice tainted with caution and confusion.

She nodded her head. Gray didn't get it really.

"Why would she want to be involved with a dark guild again after all her years of suffering and agony. Heck, They killed her brother!" he thought. He was going to ask her about that later.

"You really want to do this one huh?" He said in defeat.

She nodded again, not saying a word.

"Alright then. We'll do this one." Sophie and Gray walked over to Mira, handing her the job. Mira's reaction was the same as Gray's.

"A-alight then." she said, trying to regain her composure. "Good Luck!" she called to them. They left the guild shortly after that.

They arrived at the train station and boarded a train. This job took place in Shirotsume, a place Gray was familiar with, as he had been on a job there with Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Happy. As they sat down, Sophie stared at the floor, an unknown emotion playing on her face.

"What's up Sophie?" Gray asked, curious to why her happy demeanor had suddenly spoiled.

"I'm just remembering some stuff." She told him, not looking up from the floor.

"Eisenwald stuff?" he pressed her.

"Well, erm, I'm remembering Jai." she admitted. "That's why I wanted to do this job so much, to show the dark guilds that I'm not who they know me as, that I'm not one of them anymore, and to avenge Jai, in a way." she clenched her hands into fists.

"Sorry for asking this but, you said, to show the darks guild I'm not who they know me as. Do some guilds know of you?" Gray asked her after hearing her explanation.

"Almost every dark guild knows me." she told him, her voice now down to a near-silent whisper. "I did some things at Eisenwald that spread my name like wildfire. Things I never should have done."

There was utter silence between the two mage. Nobody spoke for moment or two, Sophie being ashamed, Gray being curious.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me what happened?" He asked sympathetically.

"No." She told him, anger and sorrow coming into her voice. "I'd rather not tell you what happened."

Gray understood. He knew she had been through a lot in the past few weeks. She probably wasn't ready to face her past just yet.

"What was Jai like?" He asked her, changing the subject. He was interested in learning about Sophie's now deceased brother. She had always talked about him with great fascination and wonder.

Sophie took a breath. "Jai was a quiet, yet dynamic person." she began, "He was always by my side, doing everything with me. We would always train in the meadow by our house every day, striving to be the best we could at our light magic. He would wake me up at 6:00 in the morning to train, up until we were either too tired, or drained of magic energy. That's when we'd go inside, and just talk. We weren't just siblings, but best friends. We shared everything with each other, almost never picked fights, and overall, were amazing partners. Jai's one flaw was that he was easily persuaded. That's why he adjusted to Eisenwald much quicker than I ever did. All he needed was a few good reasons and he was sold on it. Of course he didn't like doing assassinations, and other daunting jobs, but he still did them. I would always go with him, but I'd never kill anyone, I'd just back Jai up, and defend myself. One day I tried to get him to leave the guild with me, which was fairly easy. I had tried to lave many times, but this would be Jai's first attempt. Never less, we were caught, beaten, and ultimately, Jai died." she said.

Gray instantly felt a strong pang of sorrow for Sophie. She had told them about her nightmare, but hearing it all over again was even worse, and Gray wondered how much it hurt to talk about Jai.

The train jerked to a stop, flinging Sophie onto Gray.

"Oh My!" she yelped. "I'm sorry! I really am!" she climbed off Gray, and stood up. "Here we are!" she cheered. Shirotsume was a nice town, it was now rather peaceful, and it there was very nice weather. Gray took the request from his pocket and unfolded it.

"Okay. We need to go to the mayor's office first." he said. And with that, the pair was off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*GRAY'S P.O.V*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I headed off to the mayor's office with Sophie. She sure seemed happy about this job. I was very curious about what had happened in Eisenwald that got her name around. I wasn't going to push anything out of her though.

After about a ten minute walk, we arrived at the office. It was quite small, just like Shirotsume itself. Sophie and I walked into the building.

"Umm, we're here for the job about the rouge wizards." I told a secretary at the desk. She glanced up at us, narrowing her eyes.

"Show me your marks." She snapped, obviously not believing our story.

I let out a sigh, this was going to be weird, mine was on my chest, and Sophie's was on her thigh. I lifted up my shirt, showing my mark, while Sophie sort of put her leg on the desk in a rather awkward way. Her eyes softened.

"Right this way." she arose, walking down a hallway. We followed her into a rather nice office. A man was worriedly pacing through the room.

"Here are the wizards." the lady said, and with that she was gone.

"Hi there!" Sophie exclaimed, holding out her hand. The mayor approached her, relief painting his expression. He shook her hand than mine.

"I'm very relieved you two are here!" the mayor cried out. "There seems to have been a group of rouge dark guild wizards roaming through-out the city. They attack innocents, and cause havoc everywhere they go!"

"That's okay! We can take care of them for you!" Sophie reassured him.

"Yeah." Gray agreed.

The mayor clapped his hands together. "Thank you! Thank you so much! Bless your souls!" Sophie looked embarrassed.

With that, we left the office, now on the search for these wizards.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*SOPHIE'S P.O.V*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gray and I had been walking around for about 45 minutes now, on the hunt for these mages. We turned down an ally, cutting through to the second street over, Gray in front, and myself bringing up the rear.

As we were walking, a pair of hands grabbed my waist, while another clamped two dirty, rancid hand over my mouth to keep me from crying out. They dragged me around the corner, shoving me to the ground.

"Yer' that Eisenwald girl everyone's been yakkin' about eh'?" one said.

My mouth was still covered, instead now it was replaced by duct tape, covered by a cloth. My hand were bound, apparently by a magic-cancelling device.

"Think Sophie Think!" I thought. "What would Jai do?" Jai had told me about situations like these. Since we were in a dark guild, we could be held hostage like this for information. I started to lick the tape. It was gross, yes, but it would help. The tape was finally getting free. The two men who had grabbed me where still pestering with questions. Finally getting the tape free, my sense of speech was obtained again.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled at them, very annoyed.

"So yer' a clever one then. Of course that's what I'd expect from you, Sophie."

I gasped at what the man with the dirty hands had said. He knew me? Of course a lot of the dark guilds had heard my name, but not very many knew what I looked like. He pulled of his mask, to reveal a man with blood-red hair and gray eyes.

"T-Tod." I stammered. I knew this man. This man had joined in on my group punishment. He hated me most of all, more than anyone else. He never said why, so I never knew why. I just knew to stay out of his path. He had abused me in the past as well. We had been forced together on a group mission, and Jai was not allowed to go with us, since he had been forcefully sent out with someone else. It was awful, when nobody was looking, he'd swing punches at me, and I'd swing them back. My self-proclaimed, "no-hurt-rule" could make an exception for this man. Tod had left the guild about a year before I did with 2 others, woman name Medo, and another man named Vanda.

"Are these people the rouge wizards Gray and I are supposed to stop?" realization hit me as I remembered I had been separated from Gray. I gather a lot of air in my lungs and let out the loudest scream I could muster.

"GRAY!" I cried out. Tod and the other figure glanced around.

"Nobody's gonna save ya'." he smiled deviously. The second figure took over their hood revealing raven hair that reminded me of Gray, with icy blue eyes. Vanda. Which meant Medo was around somewhere. Medo was the strongest of Tod, and Vanda, and herself, and never held back. Out of everyone in Eisenwald, Medo was my favorite. She never harmed me, and watched as others did, although she'd never stop it. She did have a strict nature to her, and would yell at me a lot, but that was better than being beaten in my opinion.

"How's Eisenwald been to ya?" Vanda teased. He had been as equal to my torture as Tod, except he wouldn't beat me on missions, he'd just yell a lot.

"As you can see Vanda, I've left Eisenwald for greener pastures." I motioned to my thigh.

"I am now a current member of the Fairy Tail guild." I stated calmly.

"Too bad Jai couldn't come with you." He mocked. He had watched Jai die, and watched my anguish. My pupils shrank, my eyes widened, my fists clenched.

"Ooh, looks like I hit a sore spot." He taunted, a smile playing on his lips.

"YOU WILL NOT MOCK JAI'S LIFE!" I cried in anguish, summoning light to my hands.

"T-the cuffs shouldn't allow you to use magic!" Tod gaped at me, suddenly concerned.

I knew Gray was behind me, I felt him freeze off the cuffs. I was impressed at his stealth.

"Light Summon, DAGGERS!" I felt the daggers enter my hands, they were heavier than I remembered for some strange reason. I would find out later.

"Remember guys, I never miss." I smiled, a fire blazing in my eyes. I threw the daggers. One at Tod, the other at Vanda. They each sunk into their chests, leaving a gash. Realization slapped me in the face. These daggers weren't my simple play-fighting daggers I had used with Natsu, they were the real-deal. That's why they were heavier. These daggers could kill. I stumbled backwards into a pair of arms. Gray's. I watched in horror as both Tod and Vanda slunk to the ground, blood pooling from their chests. I let out a muffled scream. I had meant to defend myself, not kill the two. I was powerless now. I buried my face in Gray's arms, only to feel his hands stab the blade into my back.

**AN: CHAPTER 5 IS DONE! WHAT A CLIFFHANGER AT THE END! IS GRAY A BACKSTABBER TO SOPHIE? (see what I did there? Heheh)**

**It was a nice long one, with (in my opinion) a decent cliffhanger. In case you were wondering, here's the story behind the former Eisenwald member's names.**

**Tod: Means "death" in German**

**Medo: Means "fear" in Portuguese**

**Vanda: Means "anguish" in Swedish**

**All according to Google translate. :I I don't know. Do you think it's cool? I like em'!**

**The next chapter should be up sometime in the next two days!**

**That's all for now! Thanks for reading and following!**


	6. Medo's Mind Control & Aurora The Exceed

**AN: Hello Everybody! Welcome Back! It's time for (drum roll please!) **

**CHAPTER 6! **

**Little note, school's coming up real soon, and that means, wait for it, homework, projects, and other stuff. On the bright side, it's senior year! So that's great! I'll try and type some chapters up for the future, since I don't quite know how long I plan for this story to be before another one is created…**

**Reminders!**

**1. PM me with new title suggestions!**

**2. I need OC'S still!**

**3. ****I may change the rating up to M since this story may take a couple unexpected turns such as, more harsh language and more vivid death and fight scenes.**

**3. Thanks to ****XxXKiaAmaratsuXxX**** for favoriting! You can have a cookie.**

**That's all I've got! If you need it, here's the OC submission form. **

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**Natsu: So, You're going of to school soon, huh? What's gonna happen to me and the rest of Fairy Tail?**

**ARRRGGH! It's been a while since the wall was broken! I just fixed it too you jerk!**

**Natsu: Jeez' I'm sorry. Take it easy!**

**DO THE DISCLAIMER OR I DO SOMETHING TO YOU IN THE STORY!**

**Natsu: Ah! Um. Spring doesn't own Fairy Tail, no matter how many phone calls she makes! Hiro Mashima does! Was that okay?**

**I guess, you made me sound desperate though. Oh Well,**

**I wrote a very very very long chapter for you guys so, HAPPY READING! **

… That's when she felt Gray stab the knife into her back….

*~*~*~*~*~* Sophie's P.O.V *~*~*~*~*~*

I felt him stab the ice blade into my back. I felt the pain surging through every part of my body. I felt my consciousness slip away. But what hurt the most was not physical, it was my heart. For my heart, had broken into millions of pieces. The man I had begun to love, the man who had watched over me when I first came to the guild, the man who had helped me choose, and offered to help me on my very first job in Fairy Tail, had broken my heart, soul, and trust.

*~*~*~*~*~* GRAY'S P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~*

The knife in my hand clattered to the ground.

"Why do I have a knife? WHERE'S SOPHIE?" I spoke to myself, then crying out for Sophie. My heart stopped beating, I dare not take a breath. I saw her. Right in front of me, on the ground, unconscious, with a stab wound in her back, in a puddle of her own blood. My eyes darted to the knife I had put down earlier. As expected, it was coated in a fine layer of scarlet blood. Sophie's blood.

I lunged towards her body, a sickening cry forming in my throat.

"No no no no no no no no no!" I choked out.

"What happened?" I thought. "Why was I holding the knife, I would never harm her!"

I heard light footsteps behind me. I jerked my head around, to see a woman.

She had deep purple hair that reached to her waist, and deep green eyes, very similar to Sophie's.

"Great job!" she cheered looking from me to Sophie. "You made my job sooooo much easier!" she exaggerated. "I was going to kill her myself, but now I don't need to get my hands dirty!"

"W-who are you?" I asked this woman. "Why did you want to kill Sophie?"

"Sophie and I are old friends you see. We were in the same guild. My name is Medo." she smiled devilishly.

"WHY DID YOU WANT TO KILL HER!" I roared.

"Easy big guy." she said rather bored. "She needed to be punished for her crimes."

"C-crimes?" I questioned. Sophie hadn't told anybody about anything like this before. Was this what she didn't want to tell me on the train?

"I can't believe she hasn't told you yet!" Medo shrieked in laughter. "Sweet little Sophie here is a murderer!"

My heart stopped again. A murderer?! Sophie couldn't be a murderer! She was too innocent, and caring! She even said she refused to kill anyone!

"Tod and Vanda here weren't her first!" Medo said walking over to the bodies slumped in a heap on the ground several feet away. Medo picked them up, slinging Tod over her left shoulder, and Vanda over her right.

"I must be going then!" she chirped. "Tata!"

"Wait!" I called out after her.

She didn't listen, and with that she was gone.

My priorities shifted instantly. Sophie needed serious medical attention as soon as possible! Medo had presumed her dead, but I knew she was just unconscious. I picked her up, wrapping my coat around her. I ran out of the ally, and approached the first person I saw.

"Do you now where the nearest hospital is?" I frantically asked the man

"The nearest hospital is miles away son." The man said worriedly. "But my wife is a nurse. She can help you if you come with me! I'm on my way home right now."

I nodded my head and ran with the man to his home.

"What happened to her?" The man asked me on our way.

"I, I don't exactly know,. You see, I was just walking around the backstreets trying to find her since we had been separated, and next thing I knew, I was next to her with a knife in my hand, and she was unconscious." I admitted.

"There defiantly was some magic involved then. I can tell you two are close, and if you're helping her then, you never would've done it purposely." he mused.

After about 3 more minutes of running, they reached their destination.

The man swung open the door. "CLARA!" he yelled. Clara must've been his wife.

"What is it dea- OH MY!" she gasped when she saw Sophie's limp body in my arms.

"This young man needs your help. His friend was stabbed." he motioned to Sophie's blood-stained back.

"Right this way!" She said, leading me into a room, which looked a lot like an operating room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~* NARRATOR P.O.V.*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The man noticed Gray's confusion. "Clara helps lot of people out in town. Since the hospital is a few miles away, in an emergency, people just rush in here. Oh! How rude I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Will." he said introducing himself to Gray.

Clara took Sophie from Gray's arms and lay her on the table. She turned her over to look at her back. She then put on a mask and got out several things including hydrogen peroxide, bandages, gauze, and an assortment of other things. She started to examine the wound closely, writing things down in a small pad of paper.

"Good news, and bad news." she said turning to Gray.

"The good news is, nothing vital was punctured. So she won't need surgery. The bad news is that she won't be able to walk, practice magic, or anything for weeks based on the severity of the wound. It's already showing signs of mild infection, and the wound itself is very deep." she stated, pity in her eyes as she stared at Sophie. "Poor thing."

Gray knew he should feel relieved at this, but he wasn't. He felt anger towards himself for doing this. He knew he didn't purposely hurt her, so what made him do it?

"Thank you so much Clara. And you too Will, without you, who knows what would've happened."

"Do you need to spend the night?" Will asked him.

"No, we're supposed to be on a job, but I can take her back to the guild."

"Alright then. Let me finish up here." Clara dabbed Sophie's back with antiseptics and wrapped bandaged around her back, then her abdomen, and around again.

"Once, again, thank you so much you two." Gray thanked the two.

"It's not a problem really, I just love to help people!" Clara nodded, smiling at Will.

"If you don't mind, we'll be going now." Gray picked up Sophie.

"Take it easy!" Will called after them.

Gray set off for the train station, abandoning the job. He'd send Natsu and Lucy to finish it for him. He quickly found a train back to Magnolia, which thankfully, was very close to here.

He boarded the train, carrying Sophie who was still unconscious. He lay her next to him, resting her head on her lap.

He mused about what had happened, and what was going to happen. How was Sophie going to react when she woke up? And what had come over Gray to do what he had done?

They arrived shortly at the Magnolia train station, where Gray picked Sophie up once more, and set off towards the guild. As he arrived he took a deep breath, and kicked open the door. People stared at him, and reacted just like it had been when Sophie had first been brought into the guild. He calmly walked to the infirmary, and set her down on a bed, Mira trailing behind him.

"What happened Gray?" she asked, concern lighting her face.

"She was stabbed in the back." he told her flatly. 'By me.' he thought.

"I found a man whose wife was a nurse and she helped out quite a bit. She just need rest." he said quietly.

"Alright, I'll be back soon. Come get me if she wakes up so she can eat something." she smiled and exited. Gray sat there. Just as he did when Sophie first came here. The door flung open, and the rest of Gray's team dashed into the room, flocking around the two like vultures.

"What happened?" Erza demanded.

"Is she okay?" Lucy fretted.

"She was stabbed." He sighed. "and yes, she's fine."

"She better be! I wanna fight her again!" Natsu yelled, high-fiving Happy.

"Aye Sir!" he agreed.

Sophie's eyes fluttered open, and she scanned the room, observing the people that were practically smothering her.

"Hello everyone." she greeted. Her eyes widened as she was pulled into a hug from Lucy.

"You're okay!" she squealed.

"FIGHT ME!" Natsu yelled.

"Not right now Natsu." she laughed. "Mabye when I'm better."

"Can I talk to Gray in private please guys?" she asked meekly.

"Sure." Erza nodded. As soon as they left, she turned to Gray.

"You know don't you." she bluntly asked him.

"What do I know?" he asked her confused.

"Medo told you. I heard everything. You know that I'm a murderer." she said looking away from him.

Gray nodded his head slightly. Sophie sighed in defeat.

"Was that what you were talking about on the train?" he asked her quietly.

"Yeah. I supposed I could tell you know huh?" her eyes looking at her hands.

"Only if you want to." he reassured her softly.

She took a deep breath. "Eisenwald doesn't really currently have a set master. They used too though. He was Medo's father actually. He hated me just as much as everybody else. Because I had to stop a mission to protect Jai and I, he got angry, and hit Jai, blaming him for being weak. I was so mad that he hurt Jai, even though he did nothing wrong. So I became furious, lashed out, using more magic power than anybody knew I had, and ended up killing him. Medo uses mind-control magic, which is why you were the one who stabbed me. She used to be kind of nice to me, but after that, she raise hell on me. She swore to kill me after that. Which is why she used her magic on you."

Gray stared at her. Sophie. Innocent, cheerful, happy Sophie McCloud had killed a guild master?

"This is why I'm scared to say I may be falling in love with you Gray. Medo will kill you as well as me." she whispered.

Gray couldn't believe his ears. Sophie was falling in love with him? I mean, he was happy to hear that, but she clearly wasn't so sure.

"I'm sorry. I need to go home for a bit. I'm expecting somebody around now." she stood up, and left the room.

"Sophie!" he called out. She ran through the main hall, out the door, tears brimming her eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~* SOPHIE'S P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~

I turned a few corners until I reached Lotus Street. I ran down it, until I came to my house. It was a nice flat, on the lake, with a nice backyard and great interior. I stumbled up the doorstep, fumbling for my key. I pulled it out of my pocket, and jammed it into the keyhole. I staggered inside, slamming the door behind me. I slumped to the floor. They wouldn't find me here. Nobody had seen my house, let alone knew the street it was on. I would have complete privacy here. I got up and walked to the kitchen, and started to prepare some food. While the stove top was preheating, I walked into my room, and changed into a cream colored crop-top and black leggings. I heading into the bathroom and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked like a wreck. My messy hair, smeared make-up. It was too much to take in. So brushed out the tangles in my thick pink hair, and re-did my makeup. I heard the oven ding, so I headed back out. I stuck in some lasagna and set the timer. I then walked to the dining table, and sat down. I put my head in my hands. What a day it had been. I heard my window open, and in came a friendly face. Aurora. She was a lilac colored Exceed with blue eyes and a simple white dress with a white bow at the base of her left ear. I knew I was no dragon slayer, but my mother was. My mother was the light dragon slayer, and taught Jai and I light magic. Not light-dragon magic, but just light magic. She never did get an Exceed, which may have been why Aurora came to me. My mother had died a few years before Jai and I were kidnapped due to a terrible illness, and we never knew our father. All we knew about him was that he was a mage that Jai looked like, who had set out on a job and never came back. Since I was technically the last of my family, I got Aurora. We didn't see each other a lot, but when we did, we were overjoyed.

"Sophie!" she squealed. "You're home!" she flew towards me.

"Aurora! I've missed you so much!" I hugged her. I liked how we weren't always together. It made our reunions that much sweeter. We always had exciting stories to tell each other. I heard the oven ding, and walked over to get out the lasagna. I cut some slices and pulled two plates out. I brought them to the table and gave Aurora and I some silverware. We began to eat and tell our stories. I learned Aurora had been off with some of her friends exploring some jungles together. She was an explorer along with 3 other Exceeds from Extalia. Their names were June, Cyrus, and Rider. The 4 of them often set out of adventures together and did tons of exploring.

"What about you Sophie? What have you been up to?" she asked, stuffing her face with lasagna.

"I've left Eisenwald. And joined Fairy Tail." I told her with enthusiasm. "I've heard that guild name before! How did you get in?" she pursued.

"Well. Erm. Actually I don't know. I woke up in their infirmary after my Eisenwald breakout and then just joined. I met a man name Gray along with the rest of his team, which were 3 other people as well as another Exceed named Happy." I kept telling her about how Natsu was the fire-dragon slayer, Lucy was a celestial spirit mage, and all the fights that broke out. I told her everything up until today. Including what had happened with Gray.

She embraced me into a much needed hug as we finished our lasagna.

I glanced at the clocked. Only 3:00. We could still do more things.

"Can we go to the park pretty pleeeeeeeeeease?" Aurora begged me.

"Of course!" I laughed. I pulled on some boots, and grabbed my bag and we started walking.

"Sophie? Did you liiiiiiiiiiike Gray?" she smiled. I sighed. She was no better than Happy.

"Yes." I told her. "At one point I really did think I was falling in love. But he knows about my past know. Medo told him." I sighed. "It can never work out Aurora. Medo will kill him."

Aurora sat on my shoulder, swinging her feet. "What's this, Happy is it?, like Sophie?" she asked me, admiration gleaming in her eyes.

"Why? Do you liiiiiiiiiiiike him?" I laughed.

"No Sophie! I've never even seen him! I was just curious since he works with an actual dragon slayer." she snapped.

I laughed again. "So I'm not good enough for you?" I pretended to be hurt.

"NO!" she cried, hugging my neck.

"Alright alright!" I surrendered. "Well, let's see. He's blue, with a white belly and white-tipped tail, and he wears a green backpack." I told her.

"hmmm. He seems like a normal Exceed. Oh! We're here!" she called out from her post on my shoulder.

We arrived at the park, where Aurora flew to the pond, splashing around.

"Come on Sophie!" she begged me. I kicked me shoes off, and rolled up my leggings, and stepped into the pond. The water felt refreshing on my feet. I scooped up Aurora, and flung her deeper into the water. She emerged laughing.

I never knew that after everything that had happened, I could still be smiling and playing around. Aurora came out, shivering. I pulled a small washcloth out of my bag, and wrapped her in it.

"Sophie, I want to tell you something." she cuddled into me.

"Shoot." I told her, curious as to what she wanted to say.

"I'm leaving my exploring group to stay with you." She said drowsily.

"What? But You love exploring!" I told her shocked.

"But being a mage is cooler." she said before drifting off to sleep. I was stumped.

I picked her up, and started walking home. As I turned down Lotus street, I was rather surprised to find Natsu and Happy sitting at my doorstep.

"Natsu? Happy?" I called out. Their heads snapped in my direction. I walked up to them, and put my key in the keyhole. I opened the door, inviting them inside.

As I shut the door, I turned to them, rather angry,

"What are you doing here?!" I snapped, setting Aurora in a small hammock she had brought back for herself one day.

"We wanted to check on you. You kinda left in a rush." Natsu said.

"How did you find me house?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I followed your smell." he sheepishly said.

"That's not weird at all!" I rolled my eyes.

Happy had made his way over to the hammock, where Aurora was sleeping.

"Y-you're a dragon-slayer too Sophie?" He asked. Natsu's mouth dropped open.

"No. My mother was. She never did get an Exceed. Since she and Jai died, and my father is gone, she just came to me. Her name is Aurora." I told him.

I picked her up, and stroked her until she woke up.

"We have guests." I murmured to her.

Instantly she was wide awake, and shot over to Happy, bouncing around him.

I smiled at her and sat next to Natsu on the couch.

Everything had changed once more today. Aurora came back, permanently. As well as the fact that I was stabbed, and told Gray my secret. The fact that I had to face him again made tiny little butterflies flutter in my stomach.

**AN: MY GOODNESS. That took a looooooooong time to type. I may split it in two, but we'll see. I got a PM telling me some things I should implement ****In the story, including the introduction of Aurora. SO IF Y'ALL DON'T LIKE HER BLAME THE PM. **

**I didn't really like this chapter as much as I should've. It may just be the fact that I took a couple plot risks. I may even rewrite this chapter until I'm satisfied with it. But then, I have a lot on my plate already.**

**That's it for now. I don't know quite yet when I'll update again. I'm visiting my family in America this week, and I'll try and type but oh well. I wonder how'll they'll react to my new English accent?**

**Until next time!**

**-springtimesadness**


	7. Settling A Score

**AN: Hello Everybody! Greetings from America! Yes! I'm in America visiting my family before school starts up again! I missed everything here, although I'm so used to how things work in the U.K.! But, I still am able to write for you guys! So whoop-dee doo! Couple Things,**

**1. Senior Year IS starting very soon, so with all the work I'll be doing, updates will become slightly less frequent. I will try my hardest to balance everything, but I can't make promises. **

**2. I have a question for you the readers. Should I write a bunch of chapters and post them all at once during school season, or try and begin a schedule? I don't mind either, although I have a problem with each one. The first one's being that I will have much work to do for school, and may not be able to write long, quality, chapters, but I will still be writing them. The second one's con is that it is hard for me to stick to a schedule. I write when I want, not because I have to. So writing to a schedule may be a problem for me.**

**3. Feel free to suggest a story I should write next! It can be any topic you want! I would like to hear what you guys feel is a good topic for me to write for. **

**4. ****2 OC'S WILL BE INTRODUCED IN THIS CHAPTER. **

**Thanks to Emerald Dynamo for submitting Syra, and scrawlx1012 for submitting Garett! **

**The other 3 OC'S will be in chapter 9! (hopefully!)**

**That's enough stuff for now. By the way, I DID change the rating from T to M, just because I wanted to write for descriptive death/fight scenes, as well as implement more strong language. NOW I'm done.**

**Enjoy the story! Don't forget to R & R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail! If I did, Sophie would exist. Hiro Mashima does. *lucky guy***

~*~*~*~*~*GRAY'S P.O.V.*~*~*~*~*~

"What just happened?" I thought. Everything had changed in a flash.

Sophie had confessed one of her darkest secrets to me, as well as telling me she had began to love. Then she ran out the door, saying she was expecting somebody. I wonder who? I stood up. I needed something to do. Erza, Wendy and Lucy had gone to finish the job where Sophie and I left off. I hoped they caught Medo. She deserved it. Medo. Many questions still bugged me about her. Why would she use my body to let Sophie go in the first place? Why would she sacrifice her two comrades to kill Sophie? Why was she even in Shirotsume in the first place?

~*~*~*~*~*NATSU'S P.O.V.*~*~*~*~*~

I sat next to Sophie on her couch, watching Aurora and Happy frolic together. It was nice to see him having fun with another Exceed. Carla wasn't exactly the nicest towards him, and Pantherlily wouldn't play with him, just small talk. I glanced at Sophie out of the corner of my eye. She was looking out the window, looking rather forlorn.

"Erm. Sophie? Is something the matter?" I asked her, unsure if I should be asking.

"Hmm? Oh! N-no. Everything's fine!" she told me a little on the shaky side.

I was no fool. I knew she was lying to me. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Sophie. What's. Wrong." I stared her straight in the face.

A pink blush and colorful as her hair dusted her cheeks.

"I'm remembering somebody." she confessed.

"Eisenwald?" I squinted at her.

She just dipped her head slightly.

"The truth is, not everybody hated me there. A few select people didn't mind me. On rare occasion, some even enjoyed me. I'm just thinking about one of them." she said wistfully, returning her gaze to the window.

"His name was Garett. Garett Xandro. He was a friend of mine that helped me get over Jai." she remembered. "We'd done the occasional job together, and developed quite a bond. He would always say I reminded him of his mother, who had died a few years before he joined the guild. In fact, when he first saw me, he actually thought I was his mother for a moment." she laughed, looking back on the memory.

"What happened to him?" I asked her. This guy didn't sound half bad.

"Oh, he's still part of Eisenwald I believe." she said, putting a finger to her chin, pondering the thought.

A silence drifted into the room, we didn't know what to say to each other.

"Why did you leave the guild in such a hurry today?" I asked her.

"Erm. W-well, I told Gray something I wasn't supposed to say. Two things actually. One of which had to do with my past, the other more personal."

She stammered, clearly upset with herself.

More silence. This was real awkward now. I glanced at the clock. 5:00.

"I've got to go." I said. She smiled, and stood up.

"Yea, I've got to go do something." she told me, looking rather anxious.

"Come on Happy." I called to him.

"Aye Sir! See ya around Aurora!" he cheered to the purple Exceed. She waved to him. Sophie and I laughed. These two were going to be great friends. With that, we left to the guild. 

~*~*~*~*~* SOPHIE'S P.O.V.*~*~*~*~*~

"I see somebody's made a friend." I scooped her up.

She giggled. "Yeah! Happy's the best!" I set her on the table.

"I've got to go do something. Something very important. You can't go with me unfortunately." I whispered to her. She pouted.

"Why?! If I'm gonna be here forever, why shouldn't I come with you?"

"You do have to go back to Extalia to get your things and say goodbye to June, Cyrus, and Rider." I pointed out to her.

"Oh! I do! Thanks for reminding me Sophie! I'll be off then!" with that, she gave me a quick hug, and flew out the door.

I walked over to my room, grabbing my bag, throwing a few things in there, and walked over to the door. I pulled out a pen and some paper, writing a message to Aurora for when she gets back. Her trips usually lasted a week, so I'd have plenty of time.

_Dear Aurora,_

_If you are reading this and I'm not here, something bad has most likely happened. Tell Natsu that I've been gone for a week and am in trouble. He'll be the only one that will understand where I am and what I'm doing. I hope. I'll try and get back as soon as I can._

_Love,_

_Sophie McCloud._

I stuck the note to the door, where I hoped she'd find it if she needed to. I took a breath, and walked out the door.

I headed once more down Lotus Street, heading towards the train station. I was headed towards a town I had no desire of going back to. Oshibana Town.

I arrived quickly to the station, I had been keeping a spare ticket in case I ever needed it, and it looked like it was time. I handed a woman my ticket, and boarded the train. I looked out the window, staring at the scenery.

I spent an unhealthy amount of the train ride worrying about what I was getting myself into. As soon as I was calming myself down, the train screeched to a stop, flinging me at the empty seat across from me. I would need to remember that was coming next time I used a train.

I remembered every nook and cranny of this town, for it was where Eisenwald resided. And Eisenwald was my destination. I needed to do something I should have done a long time ago. I followed the route I infamously remembered. After a few minutes of walking, I found it. Eisenwald. The guild that had destroyed so much of the little things I had. I threw my bag in a bush, it would just get in the way. I marched into the guild with a fierce aura surrounding me. I flung open the doors.

"Hello Friends!" I said sarcastically. All eyes turned to focus on me. Some eyes widened. Others reached for a weapon, or summoned something.

"Where. Is. Medo." I snarled. As if on cue she stepped forward, clearly impressed at my newfound confidence.

"I see you're not dead after all." she raised a brow, interest covering her gaze.

"It takes more than a simple knife to the back to kill this mage!" I threw my hands up.

She reached for a knife. She was going to fight me. I glanced around the room, when I noticed two figures in the background, both staring at me.

I recognized both of them immediately. Garett and Syra. The only two people in the guild who enjoyed being around me. I stared at them intently. They had thought I died. It was my last beating when the two were on a job together. They came back to blood stains on the floor as well as my absence. They had assumed the worst and presumed me dead. Medo instantly noticed my stare-down with the two, suddenly smiling.

"Garett. Syra." she snapped at the two, ripping their gaze from me. "Come here."

They both walked up to her.

"Kill this girl. Or I kill you." she ordered them.

My eyes widened. I couldn't fight these two, they were my friends!

Garett lunged at me, malice in his eyes. He knocked me to the ground with an incredible force.

"Why are you fighting me?!" I cried out. "We were friends!"

No response. Was Medo using her mind control? I glanced at her.

She had read my mind. "No Sophie. My Magic isn't involved here. They are doing this on their own will." she laughed. I looked at her. She was telling the truth. I had learned whenever Medo's magic was activated, her ice blue eyes turned red. They were still the striking blue they usually were.

I stared at Garett, sorrow filling my gaze.

"What have you become?" I whispered. "I'm sorry Garett, but you have been corrupted. This is for your own good." I told him.

"LIGHT SUMMON, LONGSWORD!" I cried, a longsword appearing in my hands. Garett knew what I was doing, you could see it. His weapon of choice was "shatterstar", a golden longsword. He pulled it from a sheath slung over his back.

Syra entered the fight too.

" 2v1?" I thought. "This isn't fair!" Syra used weather magic. Her personality was shaped by the weather. If it was sunny, she was happy. If it was rainy, she was sad, and so forth. When I got here, the weather was rather sunny.

"Shouldn't she be happy then?" I thought.

A light fog enveloped the room.

"Damnit Syra." I grunted. I heard a blade swing inches from my face. I jumped back in surprise. Garett was quite handy with a sword. My main priority though, was Syra. If she was gone, so would the fog, making it easier to fight Garett. I squinted through the fog. I could make out blurry shapes through the mist. I saw a pair of light green eyes staring daggers at me. Those eyes would only belong to Syra. I charged at her, my longsword raised above my hand. Another blade collided with mine. Garett. He was sneaky, I'd give him that. I back-pedaled away from Syra so she wouldn't interfere. I was instantly engaged in a fight with Garett, he and I had sparred before, and he always had the upper hand against me since he had been stronger and taller. My speed was something he lacked. I would need to rely on that for now. I took a swing at his left hip. He blocked and quickly slashed at my stomach. I jumped back in the nick of time. He had gotten better since I saw him last. He took another random slice, nicking me in the shoulder. It stung a little bit, but it didn't hurt. A huge gust of wind shoved me to the ground my head at Garett's feet. Syra had come up behind me, blowing a gust of wind at my back. She was the smarter of the two. Always strategizing with Garett without him knowing it. I peered up at Garett, watching the blade raise above his head. I quickly leaped to my feet scrambling away. It collided with the ground where I had just been.

"BLINDING LIGHT!" I raised my hands above my head, scrunching my eyes shut. The light engulfed the room. Several gasps were heard.

"I can't see!" One cried "Help Me!"

Lightning crashed down feet away from me. Syra could still use her magic, she just couldn't aim properly. I ignored it though. I had gotten the two people who I needed too though, Garret had dropped his sword, holding his hands to his eyes, while the fog had lifted, as Syra's concentration had now turned to her eyes.

"LIGHT SUMMON, DUAL BLADES!" I grasped the two blades. I threw one at Syra, hitting her in the leg, and hitting Garett in the abdomen.

They hit the floor, howling in pain. I remembered training with them. Those were their weak spots. Their defensive skills were way under my league though, which made this fight that much easier for me. These weren't the killing blades though. They were like the ones I used with Natsu. I summoned another pair of blades, now turning my attention to Medo. She wasn't watching the fight. She didn't even seemed interested. She was at the bar drinking with two others. I seethed with rage I threw one at her head, the other at her back. They each sunk in. This time, the blades were real. My killing blades claimed their next target. Medo screamed in pain. She fell to the floor, blood pooling around her. She stared at me with more hatred and malice than I had ever seen in my life. She coughed, "Are you happy now? What has this proved?" she spat at me. I stared at her. "You messed with Fairy Tail. You messed with me. You messed with the one person I cared about. You deserve to die." I hissed at her.

"MEDO!" people screamed. Nobody knew I was capable of this much power. Most people had left the guild as I was there, only a few remembered my incident with Medo's father. 2 people rushed over and picked her up, carrying her away. I walked back over to Syra and Garett. I helped the two up. They didn't look seriously wounded.

"What happened to you two?" I asked them quietly.

"Sophie? Is that really you?" Syra asked me quietly. I nodded at her.

She and Garett engulfed me into a hug.

"We thought you were dead." she whispered.

"I'm pretty sure I'm alive and kicking." I told her. "But what came over you two? Garett? You're usually quiet and reading most of the time. Why were you fighting me with that look in your eyes?" I asked them.

Garett refused to look at me.

"Garett?" I asked him.

"Sophie." Syra looked at me.

"Hmm?" I looked at her.

"Ever since you left, Garett had developed some, Erm, "control issues". He loses control of himself sometimes." she said.

Garett just nodded.

"I had to help him. I'm still loyal to him and Eisenwald. Even though we're friends, we're still enemies." Syra pointed out. I nodded in understanding.

People started to surround me. All of them looked angry.

"I have to go." I told them.

"Wai-" Syra began.

I already started running. My speed can't fail me now. I scooped my bag out of the bushes and ran faster. I ran as fast as I could to the train station. When I got there is when I allowed myself to turn around. Nobody was in sight.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

I handed my ticket home to a man, who directed me to my train. I boarded quickly, and sat down. Absolutely exhausted from everything.

I couldn't stop thinking about Medo.

"Are you happy now? What does this prove?" I heard her snarl at me over and over and over again. I wondered what happened to her. If she died, or is still alive. I hoped she was dead. I wanted her to leave Gray and the rest of Fairy Tail alone. If she was alive, her rage would only be fueled. I tried not to think about it. But her last words to me kept repeating over and over again. The train ride was a slow one. It was an over night train ride, so it's been about 3 days since anybody's seen me. 1 on the way, 1 day to rest and prepare, and today. I should be arriving early in the morning.

"Unless a miracle happens and the train gets there faster." I muttered to myself.

I heard footsteps coming down the aisle. I poke my head out to see a man walking down, asking people if they could spare a seat for him.

I called out to him, "I have a empty seat If you'd like!" I smiled.

You could see the gratitude wash over his face. He quickly made his way over to me, putting his luggage above the seats before sitting down on the seat across from me.

"Thanks." he said, gratitude shining in his green eyes.

"It's no problem!" I replied to him. "My name's Sophie!" I introduced myself to him reaching out a hand to him.

"My name's Jaxon." he said, shaking my hand.

"May I ask where you're heading?" he asked me.

"Magnolia. I'm going back to my guild." I smiled.

"A mage? I'm a wizard too." He told me. "What guild do you belong to?"

"I'm a Fairy Tail mage." I explained, my eyes shining.

"Are you in a guild?" I asked him.

"No. I like to work on my own. I usually do private jobs." he told me.

"Don't you get lonely?" I pursued. " I know I would."

"Sometimes yes, but I sometimes make a few friends like this." motioning to the train.

"So, I'm your friend then?" I raised my eyebrows.

"If you want to." he shrugged.

"Okay! Friends!" I high-fived him.

"Do you have a family?" I asked. He looked like the appropriate age to have a wife and children.

"I did. My wife died unfortunately, and I've lost contact with my children." he said wistfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I told him. "My mother died form and illness. As well as my brother died from injuries. And I never knew my father." I trailed.

"We have quite a lot in common then don't we." he chuckled.

"I guess we do." I agreed

"What's it like in a guild?" he asked me.

"Well, don't ask me. I've only been in Fairy Tail for about a week." I pointed out.

"That short huh?" he crossed his arms, leaning back in the seat.

"I used to be apart of another guild, but I didn't like it very much." I said quieter.

"Mmmm." he said, closing his eyes.

"Oh! He's going to sleep!" I thought. "Stop talking!"

I looked at Jaxon while he slept. He had messy light green hair that stuck out in every direction. He reminded me of somebody. I just didn't know who.

I stared at him for a little more, trying my hardest to remember.

"Oh well." I gave up. It was to hard.

"I may as well go to sleep." I thought, seeing the train slowly make it's way to Magnolia.

I leaned against the seat, drifting to sleep.

***time skip brought to you by Makarov's mustache* **

The train skidded to a halt, flinging me into Jaxon.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! This happens every time!" I apologized.

He helped me up. "It's quite alright." he reassured me.

I looked at him again, and he looked at me closely.

"D-do I know you?" he asked me.

"I don't think so. I asked myself the same thing last night." I told him.

"You look awfully familiar." he stared.

"As do you." I replied, not taking my gaze off his.

"Here. My mother said never to do this, but this is my phone number." I told him, writing a mess of digits on my pad of paper. "In case you or I ever remember. Call it." I told him, passing the paper to him.

He did the same for me.

"See you sometime again!" I waved off to him.

"As do you, Sophie McCloud!" he waved back.

That's when I remembered, he never told me his last name.

I began my trek home from the station.

"I wonder if my absence has been noticed." I said to myself.

My house wasn't to far from the station. In a couple minutes, I arrived. I peeled the note off the door, crumpling it up, and throwing it away. I put my bag away, and changed my clothes that I had been wearing for 3 days straight.

I changed into a solid black crop top, along with some lacy cream shorts. I grabbed I tied my long hair up into a pony tail, and then threw on some brown boots, and then I ran out the door to fairy tail.

I made it there in a matter of minutes. I opened the doors, and walked in. It was normal. Natsu and Gray fighting, people joining in, the females sitting at the bar watching everything throw down. I walked over to the bar, ordering a milkshake. I took and payed for it and walked outside to a nearby park, where I sat under a Cherry Blossom tree. I sipped on it, watching the fight. I thought back to Jaxon.

"Why did he look so familiar?" I thought to myself, my brows furrowing.

Gray suddenly sat next to me.

"When did you get here Gray?" I asked him,

"Where have you been?" he demanded suddenly.

"I had to take care of something." I stated. "Eisenwald stuff."

You're covered in bandages and bruises! Please don't tell me you fought." he muttered, face-palming.

"I did." I blankly said.

"Why didn't you ask me to come with you?" he said. "I could have helped you!"

"You'd be dead." I calmly said. His mouth hung open.

"D-dead?" he stuttered, clearly in shock.

"Mmm-hmm." I sipped on my milkshake.

"Then why did you go!?" he yelled at me.

"Because it was my business. Not yours, not anybody else's." I argued back. "and I was the only one who could do what I did." I added quieter.

"What did you do?" Gray's voice dropped.

"Medo's dead." I told him. You could see the colour drain from his face. You could see his eyes widen, his mouth hang open.

"No." he breathed. "You didn't."

"Well, I think she is. She still may be alive, but I beat her up good." I thought, scratching my head.

He grabbed my hand staring me straight in the eyes.

"Why Sophie? After everything you've told me. After everything you've been through. You vowed never to harm anyone unless it was for defending."

"I was defending!" I told him. "I was defending you."

Gray got real quiet after that. He just stared at me.

"Where you telling the truth when you said you were beginning to love me?" he whispered.

"Yes." I told him.

He scooted next to me. Underneath the tree. I stared off into the distance. We didn't speak for what felt like forever.

That's when it happened.

He kissed me.

**AN: Awwwwww he kissed her! How cute! That was chapter 7! It was a good length I think. I would like to say thanks again to the two writers who submitted their OC'S for this chapter! Y'all rock! The others will be in Chapter 9. ( I hope ) I would like to state that the two OC'S in this chapter WILL being making another appearance in ANOTHER CHAPTER. ( I hope )**

**I would also like to state that I've become accustomed to English tradition, and forget how everything tasted in America. Like, the soda tastes terrible compared to the stuff in the U.K.**

**My parents love my accent and my brother is jealous. I pick up accents very quickly for an odd reason. I may have an American accent by the time I go back! Who knows?**

**Expect another chapter by Tuesday! Maybe earlier. Maybe later.**

**Until Next Time,**

**-springtimesadness **


	8. Don't Ever Say Goodbye

**AN: Hello Everybody! Spring is back! And better than ever! (just kidding, nothing has changed) I've been visiting my family in America, and have just recently arrived back in Brighton! It feels great to be back, although it was bittersweet to leave my family again. Another thing, my accent has changed I've been told. It's now apparently a mixture of American, and English! This is exactly what I've feared! I tend to pick up accents very quickly, like when I went to Jamaica for 5 days with my family a couple years back, I came back with a Jamaican accent! Oh well. **

**A few things.**

**1. I have no current need for OC'S at the moment. You can still submit them, I just don't know whether I'll need them or not. If I do, They'll be used for sure. If not, I'll use them in another Fairy Tail fic if I require their presence. **

**2. Thanks everyone for giving me advice for writing during school season. I've decided to go with the most popular advice I got and write on weekends and my free time, and upload on a set schedule. I can't make promises to when they'll be, since it's hard for me to stick to a schedule.**

**And that's it! I'll do the disclaimer since nobody's broken through the wall today-**

**Sophie: HE KISSED ME! SPRING HE KISSED ME! **

***sigh* Why bother trying at this point. Erm- I mean, congrats Sophie! I'm very proud of you!**

**Sophie: Thank You Spring! **

**Spring: Since you're here, ya' might as well do the disclaimer. **

**Sophie: springtimesadness doesn't own Fairy Tail or any characters. She does own me though, and I'm proud of that! Hiro Mashima owns Gray and the others though.**

**Spring: It'll suffice. **

**On with the chapter! I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I do writing!**

**Don't forget to R & R! Any sort of review is welcome! I love you all!**

**By The Way: This chapter is more dedicated to Sophie and Gray's "love".**

…. He kissed me….

~*~*~*~*~*~* SOPHIE'S P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~*~

I leaned against the tree once more in shock. Gray had just kissed me. What did this mean? I stared in front of me again, trying to comprehend it all.

"Sophie?" Gray asked me, confusion shadowing his gaze.

"Hmm. Oh! Yes?" I snapped out of my staring contest with nobody.

"I think I'm in love with you too." he said, starting me in the eyes.

My face turned as pink as my hair. He admitted an emotion to me that none had ever had. Love.

"That was my first kiss." I blushed. Amusement lit Gray's face almost instantly.

"You mean to tell me, that even though you're 17 years old, you've never been kissed by a guy before?" he laughed.

"Hey! It's not my fault!" I retorted in a friendly nature.

"It kind of is." he shot back laughing.

That's what it was like for a while more. Gray and I sitting under the Cherry Blossom tree, laughing and talking. Soon, the sun was setting and I knew I had to go back home. I stood up, dusting myself off.

"As fun of an evening this has been, I must be going." he told me, getting up as well.

"Agreed." I nodded, staring at the sunset.

"Goodbye Sophie." he waved.

I paled a bit. I sprinted towards Gray, wrapping my arms around him, tears beginning to show.'

"Sophie?" he asked, taken aback.

"Don't ever say goodbye." I whispered. "Say, See you soon. When you say goodbye, it makes me feel as if you're never coming back."

He smiled, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Well then Sophie, See you soon." he smiled at me. He pulled away, waving again as he walked off.

I took a breath. That was quite the evening.

I began to walk home, through the fading light of the sun, a tingly feeling fluttering like a butterfly surging through my body.

***time skip brought to you by Extalia's monarchy***

I opened my eyes softly, letting them adjust to the brightness of the daytime sun shining through my windows. I sat up, stretched, and hopped out of bed.

I proceeded to go through my daily routine. Eating breakfast, doing the morning chores, and getting dressed in a loose, simple white dress that stretched right below my knees. I grabbed a white bow, and put it in my hair, deciding to let it down today. I quickly did my make-up, and left my flat, heading for Fairy Tail.

***time skip brought to you by Happy's knapsack.***

As I entered the guild, I was immediately hit head on by a blast of water.

"LOVE RIVAL!" a voice screamed at me.

I spat out the water in my mouth, sitting up. I got to my feet, using some warm light from my hands to dry myself off. I looked at where the voice had come from.

A woman with tightly curled blue hair was standing several meters in front of me, fuming.

I remembered seeing her before. It was when I first joined the guild, when Gajeel had introduced himself and her being part of dark guild before they joined Fairy Tail. Juvia I recalled her name being.

"GRAY-SAMA IS MINE!" she yelled spraying me again with water. I should have known. This woman had some serious attachment issues to Gray. It wasn't a secret that word spreads fast in Fairy Tail. Somebody must've heard about or seen the whole incident in the park last night. I dried myself off again with warm light. I remembered when I was little, my mother told me that people who bully you just want attention, so you should just ignore them. In this case, it wasn't necessarily "bullying" more or less, it was jealousy. I guess it could be considered bullying since she had attacked me, but oh well. I would just ignore her. I walked over to the bar, right past her, not saying a word.

"A water please Mira." I told the white-haired waitress. She nodded, and began to work. I would've gotten a milkshake, but if things continued like they had been today, It would surely be spilled over me. I didn't want to wash any stains out. Water would just be easier I figured. I looked around the room, Gray wasn't here. Neither was the rest of his team.

"On a job." I told myself.

I got up, trying to figure out what to do. I didn't want to do a job, since everything with Eisenwald yesterday had tired me out pretty well, and I didn't get much sleep last night either. I then decided I would go out and train for a while. I had to start practicing more often. If I had a run-in with Eisenwald in the future, I would get pummeled. Garett and Syra were nothing near the strongest of Eisenwald. They were fairly child's play to anyone. I headed out to the field where Natsu and I sparred before. I tried to figure out what to do. I hadn't practiced for a long while, let alone by myself. I started out with fairly simple moves. I would shoot several orbs of light into the air, letting them rain down as I would dodge them. It was quite fun actually. I started shooting hundreds into the air, swiftly hopping around maneuvering away from each one. After about an hour of that, I contemplated what I should do next. I sat down in the grass, trying to come up with a new form of practice. As I sat, I felt a hand tap me on the shoulder. I snapped out of my focus, to turn around and face my visitor.

Gajeel? What was he doing here?

"What are you doing here Gajeel?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You need work." he told me straight.

"Excuse-" I began.

"Dodge." he snapped. "IRON DRAGON'S CLUB!"

An iron club shot towards me. It hit me directly in the stomach, causing me to crash towards the ground, holding my stomach in pain.

"WHAT THE HELL GAJEEL?" I screamed at him.

"You weren't fast enough." he narrowed his eyes in disgust.

"Well duh. You didn't give my time to get up and ready." I snapped.

"Do you think an enemy is going to wait for you to be ready before he attacks?" he argued.

I sighed. He had a point.

"Alright then. Spar with me Gajeel." I asked him. He just grunted in response, walking away.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" I yelled in his direction.

"You're pathetic." he called over his shoulder. "It's a miracle you managed to stay alive all your years in Eisenwald."

I fumed. He was calling me weak! I knew I wasn't the strongest in the guild, but it was insulting to be called weak!

"FIGHT ME THEN!" I snapped.

"Listen to yourself. Natsu's stupidity has begun to rub off." he scoffed.

"LIGHT BLAST!" I shot at him. He just stepped to the side, easily avoiding it.

"Oi. I ain't S-class, but I'm not that gullible." he hissed.

With that, he walked away, leaving me by myself.

"Jerk." I muttered under my breath.

I sat down again. I began to think about what Gajeel had told me.

"It's a miracle you managed to stay alive all your years in Eisenwald." that phrase echoed in my head again.

"Maybe he's right." I pondered. "Am I really just lucky?"

I got up again. I was going to work myself to the max. Just like I'd do every morning with Jai. I looked around, noticing a few trees scattered around. I summoned a few throwing knives as I walked towards the tree. I was going to practice throwing faster and more accurate. I didn't miss my targets, but I didn't always hit them exactly where I wanted to. I turned my back to the tree I took a deep breath and as quickly as I could, I spun around throwing the knife at the tree. It lodged into the tree, but not firmly. It was stuck very loosely, as if a slight touch could make it fall out. I sighed. This would be hard. I walked over, pulled the knife out and tried again. I spent a solid 45 minutes with throwing knives, spinning and throwing until I couldn't anymore. I then de-summoned them, trading them for a bow and a quiver full of light arrows. I rarely used bows. I stuck to knives and melee weapons. I grimaced at the thought of how awful I would be at shooting. I took a breath again, stringing an arrow. I pulled back effortlessly. I aimed for the center of the tree. I breathed out, firing the arrow. It missed the tree completely. I gaped at the sight. Me. Sophie McCloud. The girl who never misses a target, fired an arrow, missing the tree completely. I narrowed my eyes. This was what I needed to work on. As it turned out, my most proficient skill, was now my worst skill. I strung another arrow, shooting again. And again. And again. After about 2 hours of endless shooting arrows, I called it quits. I was on the verge of exhaustion. I de-summoned my bow and arrows, and hiked back to the guild. I trudged back in, too tired to function properly. I was immediately greeted by a fight going on.

"Heh. Typical." I yawned walking towards an empty table. As I made my way over I was suddenly hit in the head with a chair. I yelped in pain, holding my head tightly.

"Sorry Sophie!" Natsu called, in the middle of a fist-fight with Gray.

"So they're back from their job." I noticed.

"Gray, your clothes." Lucy pointed out.

"ARGH! WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?" he shrieked, scrambling for his clothes.

My face turned a deep pink. Why were they acting like this was no big deal?

"Oh Sophie, I forgot that you've never had to encounter Gray's stripping habit." Lucy said, walking over to me with an ice pack for my head.

"You mean, this happens all the time?" I moaned in anguish.

"Yep." she grimaced, handing me the ice pack. I gladly took it, pressing it to my head. I yawned again.

"You should go home Soph. You look beat." she observed.

"Yeah. I've been training all day." I replied. "I'll be going then. Thanks for the ice pack!" I thanked her, waving goodbye.

***time skip brought to you by Mira's tiny ponytail***

I awoke the next morning to chatter coming from my living room. I became scared, who was in my flat? I crept out into the room, to find Team Natsu in my room, chatting like a flock of birds.

I growled at them, clenching my fists. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" I yelled.

"I wanted to show everyone your house." Natsu smiled.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

I sighed. My one place of peace and quiet was now found out, and would probably be populated by more than Aurora and I.

"Sophieeee!" A voice called.

"Speak of the devil." I exclaimed, clasping my hands.

"Aurora!" I called to the lilac exceed.

She flew into the room, landing on my shoulder.

Erza, Gray, and Lucy stared in shock, their mouths hanging open staring at the exceed. I remembered Natsu was the only other one who knew about Aurora.

"You're a dragon slayer?!" the three voices said at the same time. I moaned, knowing I'd have to explain the story again.

"No. My mother was the light-dragon slayer. Since she and Jai are dead, and my father is off doing something somewhere, she came to me."

"So you know Light Dragon Slayer Magic then?" Erza asked, not-believing.

"No. My mother never taught me it. Just light magic." I explained.

"I see." Gray observed.

"Why didn't you tell us before your mother was a dragon slayer?" Lucy asked.

"It never came up." I shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't seem important to anyone."

"If you're half-dragon slayer, doesn't that mean you should get motion sickness? And have advanced senses though?" Gray mused.

"I don't know about that." I said, dismissing the topic. "Let's just get to the guild."

"Can I come?" Aurora begged me.

"I don't see why not." I agreed.

So I quickly got ready, and with the help of Lucy, made breakfast for everyone before we left for Fairy Tail.

As we walked, Happy and Aurora flew around above our heads, engaged in a game of tag. Those two would be inseparable. After a short walk and small talk, we arrived to the guild. We walked in, to be greeted to a scene that stunned the mages.

Kurenai Malphas and Sasha Moony. Two Eisenwald members, seated next to each other at a table, smiling deviously at the group.

**AN: Well, how was it? Was it O.K.? I'm sorry it was short, I had some guys over and we were watching Netflix, so this chapter was a little rushed. I liked the beginning, but as I went on, I became less and less satisfied. I don't hate it, but I don't love how it ended. **

**I may post again later today, or tomorrow, who knows? **

**Anyways, short and sweet author's note today! Hope you all are enjoying the story so far, I sure do enjoy writing! **

**Until Next time,**

**-springtimesadness **


	9. Take Care

**AN: Hello Everybody! It's time for chapter 9 of this story! I'm writing this the same day chapter 8 was posted, so it may be out early! I want to get in a few chapters before I start a schedule. **

**A few notes,  
1. Currently, this story doesn't have a use for anymore OC'S. If you submit them, they MAY appear very later on if I need them, or they'll be used for another Fairy Tail fic I write.**

**2. Two more OC'S will be introduced in this chapter! **

**3. School IS just around the corner, so the frequency of updates will begin to decline slightly. I am diligent, and am usually quick to complete work, but you never know what you're going to get. I'll try very hard to write chapters and will begin a schedule soon. **

**That's all! Nobody's broken through the wall, so I'll do this disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: springtimesadness doesn't own Fairy Tail. It is Hiro Mashima's baby. And stealing babies is wrong. **

~*~*~*~*~* SOPHIE'S P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~

Kurenai Malphas and Sasha Moony. 2 of Eisenwald's more elite members were sitting in Fairy Tail. As people would swing at them, a reflective wall would bounce back the magic, making them untouchable. As I walked in with the rest of Team Natsu, they smiled. They rose from the table walking over towards me. They both came to stand inches to my face. Kurenai studying me closely with blind eyes, while Sasha's eyes twinkled with evil. Quick as a flash, her hand shot out and grabbed my neck. I choked, gasping for the air she was denying me of.

"SOPHIE!" Natsu cried out. "FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" he swung at Sasha, only to hit an invisible wall. The rune Sasha cast was still active.

As my vision was blurring, I heard Kurenai snap at her.

"Hey! She wants her alive. Remember?" he scolded the girl. She muttered under her breath, dropping me to the floor. I lay gasping for air.

"We'll be taking her if you don't mind." Kurenai smirked, motioning for her to pick me up. I stared daggers at Kurenai. He was blind, so he was defenseless without Sasha's help. If he used his Takeover magic, he would be able to see again. I struggled as Sasha tried to pick me up, obviously irritating her.

"BLINDING LIGHT!" I shot towards her, hitting her in the face.

"ARGH! YOU BRAT!" she shrieked, holding her eyes. I sent a solid punch towards the side of her head, only to be grabbed by Kurenai. His appearance had changed drastically. His once deep purple colored hair has now a pitch black, with a white outline, giving him a intimidating look. His silver eyes, now black, stared at me with a disapproving tone. He now could see.

"BLINDING LIGHT!" I yelled again.

He simply closed his eyes as I scrambled to my feet.

"I know your dirty tricks Sophie." he smiled, summoning an orb to his hands.

"Shadow Barrage," Kurenai muttered, aiming at my body. He seemed rather bored with this. All I remember about Sasha and Kurenai were that they were very similar. They both were bored in fights unless they posed a challenge, they both did jobs together. They were fond of assassinations, etc. Kurenai used a Takeover magic called, "Abyss Soul." and Sasha used Dark Écriture. Gray had told me that a man in Fairy Tail used Dark Écriture, even using it against his fellow guild mates in what was called, "The Battle Of Fairy Tail." They were both incredible mages, who were very high on the totem. The small bullets of energy crashed into me, allowing pain to surge through my body. Everyone was trying to break through the rune Sasha had cast, Levy and Freed working together very hard. Sasha's runes were next to impossible to re-write, it took long periods of time to make a dent, meaning I was trapped in here with the two of them.

"Hell's Fury." Kurenai whispered to himself. He moved towards me slowly, a side-effect of the spell.

"Dark Écriture, Sword." Sasha hit Kurenai. He took a single slash of the sword, leaving a very deep gash in my abdomen. I bit back another scream, fighting through the pain.

"Dark Écriture, Pain." Sasha yawned, flicking a finger at me. I screamed in agony, the rune muting sound.

"Dark Écriture, Agony." She flicked again, allowing yet more screams to tear through the air. I fought the pain again, concentrating on my magic energy.

"LIGHT SUMMON, DAGGERS!" I yelled, grasping the heavy, killing daggers in my hands. I threw one at Kurenai's heart, as well as Sasha's. Sasha merely side-stepped the dagger with an incredible swiftness. The other one pierced Kurenai directly. He just laughed, gripping the dagger, yanking it out of him. My eyes widened. My dagger didn't even make a dent.

"RAIN OF LIGHT!" I shot at him. The pellets of light rained down on him one by one. He let out a slight grunt, seeming to be a little hurt by the shards of light. Sasha was hit as well, she toppled to the ground, only to get up again.

"You're quite desperate to not leave huh?" she grunted.

"Shadow Barrage." Kurenai shot at me again. I scrambled away. I cast a glance at the guild members, staring in shock. I saw Freed, staring at Sasha, in awe at her power.

"It only makes sense, since the magic's not exactly common." I hissed to myself.

Lost in thought, I was oblivious to the punch Kurenai was sending my way. I felt the solid impact on the side of my head. I swung back at Kurenai, only to have my hand gripped, canceling out my attack. Kurenai was quite the hand-to-hand combat user.

I beack-peddaled a few feet, gaining a bit of distance. I took a deep breath.

"Remember mother. She was strong. She was a dragon-slayer." I breathed.

"If you're a dragon-slayers kin, shouldn't you be able to use dragon-slayer magic?" I remembered hearing a member of Team Natsu ask me that.

I felt a small sense of regret. The truth was, I COULD use the magic if I wanted to. My mother had taught it to me and Jai once. We weren't very good at it though, so Jai and I decided not to focus on it, rather than mastering normal light magic which would be easier for us since we were still young. I clenched my eyes shut, a golden aura now surrounding me.

"I'm sorry for lying." I whispered to myself. I didn't want to tell anyone I could use the magic, in fear of something bad happening. I hadn't used it in over 15 years though. It was a last resort for me, and not using magic after most of my family died sure didn't help. A breeze blew through, blowing my hair from my eyes. My eyes flung open, now narrowed to slits. I focused on Sasha and Kurenai, drawing out more magic power. I breathed in sharply. It was now, or never. I exhaled.

"LIGHT DRAGON'S ROAR!" I yelled, staring Kurenai and Sasha directly in the face. A incredibly bright light flew out, slamming into Sasha and Kurenai, knocking the two of them over. I toppled over. I saw Natsu gaping at the sight. He couldn't hear it, but he knew for a fact that I had used dragon-slayer magic.

I saw him begin to laugh while he turned to Lucy, telling her about the feat again.

I panted. I sure hadn't used that much energy in a while. I guess Gajeel was right. I was weaker than I thought I was. My magic energy was no more. That was my last ditch effort to stop them. My eyes widened as Sasha shakily stood up. Kurenai just lay there.

"Well then. You could do it after all." she snickered. I couldn't fight anymore! What was I going to do?

"Dark Écriture, Strength." she flicked at Kurenai. He shakily got up, a dark aura engulfing him.

"Dark Snare." he snapped, now angry at me. Entangling me in a net-like material. I squirmed around, trying to get free.

"Malice Wave." He sent at me. Since Sasha had strengthened him, it hurt like hell. The burning, unbearable torture claiming me. I looked at Sasha, she was staring at the guild members. A smile playing on her lips. She noticed Gray, along with the others looking concerned and desperate to help. I knew exactly what she was going to do, and I did what I needed to do to stop her.

I decided to give up.

"Take me then." I said, extending my arms. "I give up."

Sasha and Kurenai exchanged a glance. Sasha was communicating with Kurenai via. Telepathy. They appeared to be formulating a plan, giving the occasional glare at me, then smiling to each other. Kurenai turned to me.

"Alright then, let's go." he grabbed my hair, yanking me up as I hissed in pain.

"Sasha." he signaled. She appeared to be doing something to the rune.

"Alright. I'm done." she finished off the rune, and Gray fell in.

"No." I breathed. She went and did what I was trying to stop.

"Dark Écriture, Death." she laughed aiming at Gray.

"NO!" I let out a mangled scream. I bit Kurenai on the wrist, causing him to drop me to the ground. I evaded forward, blocking the spell with my body.

SOPHIE!" Gray yelled at me.

As the spell hit me, I felt a warmth blossoming in my chest, spreading throughout my body, slowly tuning to a burning sensation. I hit the ground, my vision slowly blurring.

"SASHA!" Kurenai snapped at her, hitting her in the head. "WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP IT?"

"Eh. She gonna kill her anyways. I'll just say she used up too much magic energy fighting." she shrugged her shoulders.

"WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BRING HER ALIVE!" he screeched at her.

"Oh well." Sasha rolled her eyes. "See ya round Fairy Scum! Have fun!" she sung, skipping out the door, pulling Kurenai behind her.

"SASHA!" Kurenai struggled.

"BASTARDS!" Natsu roared, chasing after them.

"Natsu!" Erza snapped, chasing after him.

NARRATOR P.O.V.

Gray scrambled towards Sophie, along with the rest of Fairy Tail, the rune being broken. Her breathing was fading, becoming harder and slower.

"I saved you." she whispered, her eyes staring at the ceiling.

"You didn't have to, I could've fought them. But that's you. You fight for others, protecting and saving them." he told her, guilt welling up inside.

"I'm going to miss you all." she said, tears forming in her eyes. "You were so good to me, regardless of my past. You've been my family, something I haven't had in a while. You motivated me to face my past, and settle grudges that were being held." At the last one, she strained her glance at Natsu, remembering when Happy and him visited her house.

"Don't die Sophie!" Lucy cried, grasping her hand. "We need you here!"

"I'm not scared to die Lucy" she gasped. "I never have been. Sometimes I wished I was dead, just so I could see Jai again, just so I could live a happy life with him." Sophie reassure her, trying to smile. "I can finally see Jai." she whispered. "I hope he'll be happy to see me." A warmth burrowed into the crook of her arm. A purple, tear-stained face peered at her. Aurora.

"Sophie, I was going to be your partner forever, I was going to be a mage with you!" she wailed.

"Don't cry Aurora." she petted the grief-stricken exceed. "You have Happy and Natsu." I shudder rippled through her, her eyes widening. "Goodbye Fairy Tail. Take Care." she smiled one last time before her eyes closed forever.

**AN: Well! That happened. Talk about another cliffhanger. I thought this chapter turned out pretty well. I like it better than a few others written in the past. (I'M TALKIN' TO YOU CHAPTER 1.) Sorry about that. I didn't like how incredibly short that one was. I rewrote it, but it still was pretty short. Oh well. I'm going to try and write some more later today. Maybe you're gonna get another chapter, maybe not. I'm expecting some friends today, so I don't exactly know. Anyways, don't forget to R & R, it helps a lot. It's a little sad knowing that people are reading, following, even favoriting, but not reviewing.**

**I'm also sorry that this chapter is short. I've had a few things going on in my life that are pretty distracting. Hopefully I can write a longer one next time. **

**Until Next Time,**

**-springtimesadness **


	10. Rejected

**AN: Hello Everybody! I'm back! With the 10****th**** Chapter of, "The Girl At The Doorstep"! I hope you're all having a FABULOUS day so far! I'm in a happy, bubbly, writing mood today, so I thought, "Why not write today?" I actually had a dream last night that inspired me to write this chapter. I can, sort-of, control my dreams if I realize I'm dreaming, and this story was thrown into the mix. It was a fun dream. Seriously. I love writing and drawing about my dreams!**

**By the way, did you guys read the newest Fairy Tail manga chapter, "Air"?**

**I'm not one to spoil, so I won't but I seriously recommend that chapter to you guys! I literally had a fan-girl attack. That's all I'm going to say.**

**I would like to state that this chapter does contain a few religious references. (like seriously, very little references, but they're still in there.) I myself am agnostic atheist, and only know little about things such as heaven, god, etc. So please forgive me if anything is wrong. I don't mean to offend anyone.**

**Reminders. (only one today!)**

**1. If you want to, you can PM me with suggestions for a new scene in this story as well as a new story idea! I would love to hear all your ideas!**

**Only one reminder for this chapter! I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I did writing! I makes my day to see people following and favoriting! Don't forget to review! Any type of feedback Is welcomed with open arms!**

**No breaches in the 4****th**** wall today, so I'll do the disclaimer myself!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It's Hiro Mashima's baby, and stealing babies is WRONG kids.**

~*~*~*~*~* SOPHIE'S P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~

The last thing I remember before darkness, was the tear-stained faces of the guild members. I didn't regret what I did though, Sacrificing my life for Gray was worth it. He meant so much to so many people, and he and the rest of Fairy Tail saving my life, giving me warmth, food, shelter, was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Saving his life was the only thing I could do to repay them for their undying kindness towards me. I didn't want to leave Gray. I knew he'd beat himself up over this, and I didn't want that to happen. I wanted him to move on. I wanted him to be happy without me in his life. I would watch over him though. I would sacrifice myself again in a heartbeat if that's what it would take to save him. I didn't regret a single thing I did. He was safe, and I would see my mother and Jai again.

My eyes fluttered open. I was laying on the floor of a large room, with a group of people standing in a circle around a table. Was This heaven? I sure didn't expect it to look like this. I expected to be standing at a huge pair of golden gates, being welcomed by god. An important, office-like room sure wasn't what I was expecting. I took a closer look at the people. Although I only saw their backs in recognized my mother's pink hair, and Jai's spiky mint-colored hair.

"JAI! MOTHER!" I cried out, stumbling to my feet, racing towards them. They turned around with a strange look on their faces. Was that, disappointment in their gaze? I reached out my arms to hug them, although it was denied.

"M-mother? Jai?" I stuttered, hurt in my voice.

"Why did you sacrifice yourself?" my mother snapped at me, Jai nodding his head.

"W-what?" I trembled, tears forming in my eyes. They weren't happy to see me?

"You weren't supposed to die Sophie! You weren't supposed to fall in love! You're part of something big. You're supposed to be alive! This wasn't your destiny!" Jai hissed at me, his anger clearly visible.

"What do you mean! I repaid Fairy Tail for saving me! I saved Gray!" I argued.

"Sophie dear." my mother sighed.

"Mom…" I trailed off.

"Sophie. You're not supposed to die now. Especially not for that boy. You have much greater things you need to overcome, and your love for him cannot interfere with it." she told me, sadness in her eyes. "I know you love him, and he loves you too, but you can't let that stop you from focusing on what's to come."

"Wait! What's coming?" I feared, suddenly feeling smaller.

"I know you're happy to see us, but mom and I are going to send you back. You play an important role in the future. You can't be here." Jai said.

I stared at him, marvel in my eyes. Was this the same Jai I'd known in Eisenwald? He used to be so, feeble. He know had a sense of authority to his voice, he seemed confident, wise, and powerful. He had changed in appearance slightly as well. His hair was now longer, but still spiky. He had gotten a little taller, and more muscular. I seemed like the younger one now. I smiled, knowing he really was better off here.

"Wait. You're sending me back? As in, being alive again?" I squeaked out. "But I just got here! Can't we at least talk together for a while? I've missed you so much! I've only been her for only just a few minutes and you haven't even said welcome back, or given me a hug, or anything!" I yelled at them, flinging my hands up.

"Sophie, take a good look here." Jai motioned to the circular table he was standing around. It was a screen-like device inserted into the table, with the image of my body dead on the ground, dozens of tear-stained faces around it.

"You are missed. You don't realize how many people are going to suffer if you don't go back. You can't always be thinking about being reunited with us. You have to move on. You need to look to the future, not the past." my mother told me. She turned to Jai, who shared the same gaze. They just nodded at each other, light forming at their hands.

"No! I don't want to go back! I want to stay with you two!" I yelled.

"We don't want to do this. But you have to go." My mother apologized to me.

She and Jai both nodded at me, before shooting me with the light.

I felt it burn throughout my body, very similar to when I "died". I was a lot worse though. I screamed out in pain. The burning wouldn't stop. It didn't suffice either. In fact it just kept getting worse. I felt the edges of my vision turn white this time, instead of black. I let it take me. It wasn't worth the struggling at this point I let the light consume me into unconsciousness.

When my consciousness regained, I felt a soft, furry blob in the crook of my arm. I heard sniffling around me. I realized I was still exactly where I had been when I had "died". It seemed as if almost no time had passed. I opened my eyes very slowly, letting them adjust to the light, and all the people. I heard a gasp, and felt the blob squirm over me.

"SOPHIE!" It screamed, a little too over-enthusiastic.

"My ears." I muttered, sitting up. I heard several gasps and whispers around me. My gaze traveled around. I was still on the floor, Lucy on my right, Aurora on me, Gray on my left.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Aurora cried, wrapping her small arms around my neck.

I grabbed her, pulling her into my arms.

"Yeah.." I sighed. "I'm alive."

I was pulled into a massive hug, by just about everyone in the room. I strained for air, the force of the hug crushing me.

"Need… Air.." I gasped, the hug departing.

"What happened? Why aren't you dead? That girl shot you with a death Écriture!" Lucy asked me, tears of happiness falling from her eyes.

"W-well I don't exactly know h-how I'm alive, but, I saw my mother. A-and Jai, b-but they weren't happy to s-see me." I sniffled, tears forming in my own eyes at the memory. "T-they said I couldn't die now, and I was important in the future. S-so they sent me b-back here." I purposely left out the part about Gray.

"You're important in the future?" Gray asked me, leaning back on his heels.

"Mmmhmm." I sniffed. "That's what they told me." I wiped my eyes.

"FIGHT ME SOPHIE! YOU CAN USE DRAGON-SLAYER MAGIC NOW RIGHT?" Natsu yelled at me, now returned from his chase after Kurenai and Sasha.

"Natsu, she beat you before without dragon-slayer magic." Erza snapped at him.

"No Natsu. Not now." I wistfully denied him. I was still bent at the thought of my family's rejection. They told me I was important, but was I really THAT important to the future?

"Could you please come with me Sophie?" Mira requested, motioning for the infirmary, a place that seemed to be my second home. I nodded, dusting myself off, Aurora still in my arms. I took a deep breath, shakily walking after her. I abruptly fell down, the exhaustion of the battle with Kurenai and Sasha still fresh.

"Allow me." Gray whispered to me, scooping me up. My cheeks flushed a deep pink. This was embarrassing to me. I didn't want to be treated like a child, although I knew this was the only way. Gray carried me to the infirmary, Mira leading the way. He set me down on a bed, Aurora still in my grasp. I let the staff take care of me. I felt the sting of antiseptic, the pressure of bandages being pushed against my open wounds. I felt everything that was going on. I watched everything happen. I noticed Gray hadn't left the room. Instead he was sitting right next to me.

"You can go." I sighed.

"No." he told me solidly, confirming he wasn't going to leave.

I sighed again, remembering my family's rejection. As well as their rejection on Gray.

"Thank you." he whispered. "Thank you for saving my life." He gripped my hand like a vice.

"Don't mention it." I smiled.

"No. You don't understand how much this means. If you hadn't done that, I'd be dead, you were given a second chance." he thanked me. I saw small tears forming in his eyes. I knew the emotion he was feeling. He was more thankful than he'd allow himself to be. He didn't know that I understood how he felt. It was the emotion I felt when I saw my family again. Joy. Such a huge amount of joy surged throughout me. So much, I didn't think it was possible.

I smiled sadly. I knew I was going to have to tell Gray eventually about what mother had told me. I didn't understand why me loving him would interfere with whatever was going to happen in the future.

"Sophie? What's wrong?" Gray asked me, noticing my sadness.

"I don't want to talk about it." I denied. He couldn't handle this. I had just come back to life after saving his. He couldn't hear what I had to say.

"Sophie." he cautioned.

"I'm fine. I'm just lost in thought. Thanks for being concerned though." I told him.

He planted a light kiss on my head.

"You always were one to put others first." he laughed quietly.

"I've been told that quite a lot." I smiled.

"Alrighty! There ya' go!" One of the staff members smiled at me. "You're free to go home and rest!"

"Thank you all so much." I dipped my head.

I shakily got up to my feet, Aurora now perched on Gray's shoulder.

He offered his hand, to which I gladly accepted. He led me out the back door, to avoid all the people.

"I guess Natsu did something right by taking you guys to my house." I told him.

"Hey, you never know when you're going to need to know where somebody lives." he told me.

We walked slowly to my house which, thankfully, wasn't very far from the guild. We turned down Lotus street, making our way to my house. I reached in my pocket for my key, not finding it.

"Dammit." I muttered. Now somebody was going to wind up with my house key.

I stood up on my tip-toes, reaching above the doorframe. There was a small slot there where I kept a spare key. I grasped it, pulling it down. I handed it to Aurora, who swiftly unlocked the door. I let go of Gray, walking on my own to my room.

"Be right back." I told him, closing the door. I walked over to the closet, pulling out black leggings and a white tank top. I changed quickly, returning to Gray and Aurora who were eating at the table.

"I got hungry!" Aurora protested upon seeing my reaction.

"Save some for me!" I whined, joining them at the table.

"This is good Sophie." Gray commented, his mouth full of a chicken-ceaser salad I had in the fridge.

"Thanks." I mumbled around the food.

After our short meal, I got up, and stretched my arms.

"I'm going to sleep now." I told the two.

"Goodnight Sophie!" Aurora told me, waving goodnight.

"Are you going?" I asked Gray.

"Aurora says she needs to chat. I'll leave afterwards." he told me, Aurora nodding vigorously.

I let out a small laugh.

"Alright then. See you guys tomorrow." I departed to my room, in desperate need of sweet, sweet sleep.

~*~*~*~*~* NARRATOR P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*

Aurora watched as Sophie went to her room to sleep. As she closed the door, Aurora turned to Gray.

"You love her don't ya." she giggled.

"Hey!" Gray hissed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Don't deny it Gray." Aurora laughed. "It's becoming obvious now."

"Mind your own business will ya'?" he muttered to her.

"I can't help it! Sophie's never been in love before! Heck, you were her first kiss for crying out loud!" Aurora exclaimed.

"I find it hard to believe that. Sophie seems like the kind of girl who would be engrossed in finding love." Gray rolled his eyes.

"If you break her heart, I will break your neck." she warned, an authoritive tone now suddenly edging her voice.

"Big words coming from one so small." Gray retorted, patting her head.

"Shut it Fullbuster." Aurora smiled. "I'm going to sleep. You better high-tail it out of here."

"Alright. Goodnight Aurora." he waved, watching the Exceed scamper away to a creamy colored hammock. He walked to the door, excusing himself. He put his hand on the handle, when he heard a faint whimper come from Sophie's room. He crept over, being careful not to disturb Aurora. He opened the door, peering in. Sophie was laying fast asleep, whimpering softly. Small crystalline beads of sweat dotted her head. Gray felt a small sense of pity for the girl.

"More nightmares." me murmured to himself. He snuck over to her, crawling in next to her. He didn't dare get underneath the covers, for he didn't want any accusations coming from her or Aurora. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling him close to him. Her soft cries subsided almost immediately. She now curled herself, her body molding into his, now fitting like two pieces of a puzzle.

Gray stared at her. This girl was something extraordinary. She had scarified her life for him, only to come back from the dead, claiming to be important to the future.

"What's coming that Sophie's so important to?" he thought to himself.

He lost himself in thoughts, pondering the many scenarios that could be approaching. The sleep began to consume him, his eyes drooping shut. He closed his eyes, holding Sophie close to his chest, never wanting to let her go again.

**AN: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. I guess I was just in a good mood today and now think everything's all fun and rainbows. I don't know when I'll update again, there's a small anime/gaming convention this weekend that I'm attending with my boyfriend and some of his friends. I'm super excited! I've never been to THIS convention, but I hear it's pretty fun! I just got an "Attack On Titan" Survey Corps. Jacket yesterday, and am going to wear that there! ARRRGGH! My fan-girl is kicking in! There's going to be a Super Smash Bros tournament there as well! I myself am O.K. at SSBB, but some of my boyfriend's friends are really good! SO you never now! I'll try and write tomorrow, since the convention is Sunday, and I may upload tomorrow, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night? I don't know. **

**I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I did writing! Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! Any type of feedback is welcome!**

**Until Next Time!**

**-springtimesadness **


	11. I Remembered

**AN: Hello Everybody! It's Spring coming atcha' with Chapter 11 of our little story we got here! I hope you guys are have a FABULOUS day. I love saying that. I really do. I also love writing. Yeah. Good stuff. Anyways! I felt like writing again today! I'm writing this on Saturday night, and I think it MAY be posted tomorrow morning. Maybe tonight? I'm attending a convention tomorrow afternoon with my boyfriend and some of our other friends, and I'm probably not going to be able to write tomorrow. Oh well. Today folks, you are in for a shock. That's right! Today, there are NO reminders. Nien. There just aren't any. I like doing them, but there's really nothing to say today, other than to favorite, follow, and review! Any type of feedback is welcome! It really helps me improve upon my work!**

**This chapter is kind of a filler, so sorry if you were expected something else. By the way, a certain part of this chapter is based around a certain even that happened on Tenroujima. Like previously stared, I'm not one to spoil, so I won't say what it was based around for those of you who aren't that far in the manga/anime. It's sort of obvious to the rest of you guys though. **

**Still no breach in the wall. I wonder what they're planning over there. I'll do the disclaimer while I still can.**

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima's baby, and stealing babies is wrong kids. Don't do that. Seriously.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I did writing! Enjoy!**

~*~*~*~*~ SOPHIE'S P.O.V. *~*~*~*~*~

I awoke to the sun shining brightly down on my face. I moaned, rolling over. It was Saturday. I wanted to sleep in for once! All I had been doing is getting myself beat up lately. I sat up, stretching my arms. I blinked around groggily, my vision still blurry from slumber. I felt a huge lump to my left. I kicked it with my foot, rather hard.

"OW!" the lump yelped.

"EEEP!" I shrieked, punching the person in the side of the head.

"WHAT THE HELL SOPHIE?" the stranger stood up, rubbing his head.

"Gray!" I gasped, stumbling to my feet. "Ohmygosh! I'm so so sorry! I'm sorry! I really am sorry! You scared the shit out of me, that's it! It's nothing personal I swear-" my apology was cut off by a quick hug.

"I understand." he forgave me.

"Why are you in my room anyways?" I asked him, my eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"You were crying out in your sleep just as I was leaving." he said, staring straight me.

"I was?" I rubbed my head in embarrassment. I didn't usually do that.

"Yeah. Did you have a nightmare last night?" he pressed, concern sparkling in his eyes.

"I. I don't remember." I lied. I did have a nightmare last night in fact. I dreamt of all my friends at Fairy Tail being mercilessly beat by Eisenwald members right in front of my eyes. I couldn't move though, I was being forced to watch it all.

"Did you hear about Eisenwald?" Gray asked me.

"Hmm? No. What happened?" I asked, suddenly engaged more in the conversation.

"Apparently, the magic council found out about what happened with Kurenai and Sasha. They've been ordered to disband." he gripped my shoulders.

"Disband?" I repeated. Eisenwald was finally being punished after all those years? Why now though? What had made this time any different?

"I let you get ready now." he said, exiting the room. "I'll se ya at the guild."

The guild. Oh! Fairy Tail. Of course. I had been too deep in thought. I wanted to know about this sudden disbanding. I was almost certain I had something to do with it. But what?

I quickly showered, dried my hair, ate breakfast and changed into a pair of skinny jeans, a white tank top, with a brown leather jacket and combat boots. I then quickly id my make-up, adding a white bow into my hair. I let it down today, only curling it loosely. I looked at myself in the mirror. As I stared at my reflection, my mind suddenly was swarmed with memories. I gripped my head, sinking to the floor in shock. Everything was rushing back to haunt me again.

I remembered saying goodbye to my mother as she died.

I remembered being kidnapped from my training field.

I remembered being forced into darkness with Jai.

I remembered killing our guild master out of anger.

I remembered watching Jai die in front of my own eyes.

I remembered all the torturing I had endured throughout my years.

I remembered making a successful escape from that hell-hole of a guild.

I remembered being on the verge of death, stumbling around, looking for help.

I remembered killing Tod and Vanda accidentally.

I remembered fighting Garett and Syra against our wills.

I remembered killing Medo in front of her guild.

I remembered her last words to me, "Are you happy now, What does this prove?"

I remembered seeing Kurenai and Sasha sitting in my new guild.

I remembered fighting them to the death.

I remembered Sasha attempting to kill Gray.

I remembered sacrificing my life for him.

I remembered seeing my mother and Jai rejecting me in heaven.

I remembered it all. It all shot into my head again, making me relive my sins over and over again. I started crying. I never knew how much had happened in the past few months. I felt like such a terrible person. I was a murder, an escapee, an orphan. This wasn't the way I wanted my life to turn out. I wanted the exact opposite. I wiped my tears away, shakily getting to my feet. I leaned on the sink. I took several breaths. I tried to calm myself, but I couldn't every time I would reach my calm state, I would start to cry again. I kept wiping my tears away, time and time again. I staggered out of the bathroom, clutching my head, trying to rid my head of the horrific memories. Aurora was fully awake now, probably because she heard my falling down and crying.

"Sophie! What's wrong?" she worried, fear and concern lacing her wavering voice.

"I remembered everything Aurora. Everything." I said, lowering my hands from my head, trusting myself more this time to keep my cool.

"Are you still going to the guild? You should stay home today Sophie. You were beat up very badly yesterday, remember?" she warned me, reminding me of the fight I had, "died" in.

"I'll be okay Aurora. You know what they say, laughter IS the best medicine, and Fairy Tail is defiantly a place to go if you're looking for a laugh." I waved her off.

"I'm coming with you though." she protested, crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't care either way." I laughed. I waited for her as she quickly threw on a plain, loose white dress, her white bow still at the base of her left ear. She flew next to me as I walked out the door, excitement bubbling out of her.

"Why so happy?" I questioned her, noticing immediately.

"I'm going to meet everyone! I mean, I went to the guild with you last time, but then THAT happened, and I never did get to introduce myself to anyone." she pointed out, smiling from ear to ear. She then let out a small gasp. "What if they don't like me?" she fretted.

"Trust me, everyone's going to love you! You'll get along great with the dragon-slayer's Exceeds." I reassured her, patting her between the ears.

"Speaking of which, I guess you're going to be referred to as a dragon-slayer now." she remembered. I had used, "Light Dragon's Roar" yesterday as a last-ditch effort to save my life. I guess she was right. Although it didn't feel right.

"I don't really want to be referred to as a dragon-slayer though." I admitted to her.

"Why not? If you're already pretty strong now, you'd be unstoppable using dragon-slayer magic!" she retorted, trying to win me over.

"It hurts my spirit to use it." I told her. "Not literally, but it reminds me too much of my mother, her rejecting me into heaven, all that."

"Didn't she tell you to stop focusing on the past and look to the future?" Aurora snapped. "She was right! You haven't moved on from the past! You've been stuck there for 12 years! You need to move on! I know it's hard to forget them, but you can't stop beating yourself up, and grieving over that! It's been 12 years for crying out loud!" she was yelling loud now, and we had stopped walking.

I turned pink, staring at my feet. "I guess you're right." I muttered in barely a whisper. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I really am Aurora. Today's been an off day."

"It's alright." she accepted, now sitting on my neck. I began walking again. I couldn't stop thinking about Eisenwald's disband. I was going to figure out someday why that had happened, and why so sudden.

After a brief walk, we arrived at the guild. I stopped in front of the doors, my eyes widening in shock. I couldn't open the door. I was scared. Last time I had, was when everything had happened.

"Go on, open the door." Aurora encouraged, confused as to my sudden stop.

"I-I can't." I stammered.

"For crying out loud." Aurora muttered, opening the door for me.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see who was greeting me today.

"Nobody's in there, ya' big baby." Aurora teased, gripping my hand, pulling me in.

I was dragged in, slowly become embarrassed at the stares of the guild members. What a sight this must have been.

"You can stop now. I think I know how to walk." I pulled away from her.

"If you say so." Aurora said, letting go of me.

Everyone was staring at the two of us.

"This is Aurora. She was supposed to be my mother's exceed. She was the light-dragon slayer. She died, so she came to me instead." I explained for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Hi!" Aurora waved to the crowd.

"ANOTHER DRAGON SLAYER!" a voice called out.

"FAIRY TAIL IS UNSTOPPABLE!" another cried.

I blushed, looking at my feet. I didn't want to break their spirits and say I didn't want to use or be called a dragon-slayer. I just decided to keep my mouth shut for the time being.

"Go make friends." I whispered to Aurora, nudging her in the direction of Happy, Lily, and Carla.

I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she walked over to the three.

"Hello! My name's Aurora." she greeted the others.

"Finally. Another female around here." Carla muttered.

"Nice to meet you." Pantherlily nodded.

"Aye Sir!" Happy cheered. "Great to see you again!"

I turned away from them, seeing as Aurora was making friends.

I sat down next to Gray at a table, sensing Juvia's glares at me.

"Is everything alright?" he asked me, a brow raised.

"It's just, well, I don't know what to do with this dragon-slayer magic I have." I admitted. "I mean, I barely know how to use it, and I don't know if I quite want to. But I want to be able to protect everyone."

"I don't know what to say to you. It's really a personal decision, although it would benefit the guild. And Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel could help you figure it out." he pointed out.

I had seen Natsu use many of his dragon-slayer moves when we had sparred. They seemed rather easy to learn. Maybe he could teach me. From what I heard, Wendy didn't fight a lot, focusing more on her support magic. I wasn't ready to ask Gajeel for help though, I was still a little pissed at the last time we encountered each other. Natsu seemed like the best choice at the moment, although he tended to goof-off a lot. I would ask him later about it.

"I'll ask Natsu later about it." I decided. "It would be a nice thing to have handy."

I thought about what I could do. I was in no shape to go on a job anytime soon, and sparring was out in relation to that. I slipped my hands into my pockets, leaning back a bit. My hand grazed a piece of paper in my pocket. I pulled it out, curious as to what it was doing in my pocket in the first place. I glanced at it, remembering it was the phone number I had received from Jaxon. I thought back to him. I still couldn't remember who it was he reminded me of.

"He did look a lot like Jai-" I began to think. Suddenly, my eyes shot wide open, my eyes drastically shrinking in realization.

"What is it?" Gray asked me, taken aback by my sudden reflex.

"H-He's my father isn't he." I sputtered, trying to comprehend everything.

"What? Who?" he asked me, confused by my accusation.

"I met a man on the train back from Eisenwald. His name was Jaxon. We both thought we reminded somebody of each other, and I realize now! Jai's his spitting image! That's what mother had said! She said my father was a mage that was always traveling, and Jai looked almost exactly like him!" I cried, thoughts beginning to click into place. "I need to call him!" I gasped, reaching for my phone, I dialed the number, holding my breath, waiting for him to answer.

"Hello?" a voice asked on the other end of the line.

"Jaxon! It's Sophie, the girl you met on the train! I need to speak to you! Meet me at the park as soon as possible!" I frantically told him, probably sounding like a maniac.

"Erm, alright then, I'll be there in five minutes! He told me, hanging up the phone.

"I need to go!" I told Gray, shoving my phone back in my pocket.

"Let me come with you!" he protested, standing up with me.

I stared at him for a second, unsure of what to tell him. He was sure to follow me even if I said no, to make sure I was safe.

"Alright." I surrendered.

"What about Aurora?" he asked, stealing a quick glance at the Exceed, laughing with the others.

"No. She can stay. I don't know how he'll handle it, her being my mother's exceed." I told him. "Let's go." I sprinted out the door, Gray right next to me, matching my strides.

***time skip brought to you by Natsu's scaly scarf*'**

I sat under the tree, Gray next to me. My heart was racing a thousand miles a minute. I was positive he was my father! He had to be. He fit the description perfectly. I saw a man walking towards me. Jaxon was here.

I stood up, Gray as well.

"Hello again old friend." he greeted, extending a hand. I took it, shaking it firmly. "Who's this?" he asked, glancing at Gray.

"He's my guild mate." I told him. "His name's Gray."

"Hello there Gray. I'm Jaxon." he extended his hand to Gray, who welcomed it.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked, sitting down in the grass.

Gray and I sat down across form him, shaded by a big tree.

"Do you remember when we were talking on the train?" I asked him. "You reminded me of somebody, and I reminded you of somebody." he nodded, recalling the encounter.

"I realized who you reminded me of, or who you were for that matter." I said, my voice beginning to waver in fear and anxiety.

"Go ahead." he motioned, his hand holding his head.

I took a breath. "You're Jaxon McCloud. The husband of Anna McCloud, and father of Jai and Sophie McCloud. I'm your daughter, and you're my father." I told him, staring him in the eyes.

"N-No." he gasped, realization appearing in his eyes. " Y-you were kidnapped. You were pronounced dead a month after your disappearance. That's impossible."

I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes. "No it's not, I'm here. I'm alive."

"Sophie." he whispered, taking me in for a hug. "If you're alive, where's Jai? Is he at your guild?"

I paled instantly, my eyes shrinking. I started shaking. If thinking about it myself made me teary-eyed, telling my father that his only son was dead would be enough to kill him.

"H-he's-" I began, my voice faltering. Gray helped me out.

"I'm terribly sorry Jaxon, Jai was killed. He and Sophie were kidnapped by members of Eisenwald. They were forcefully made members of the guild, and sentenced to assassinations weekly. Sophie tried to escape frequently, constantly being beaten for it. She tried with Jai one day, and they were caught. Jai couldn't handle the torture, and died because of it." Gray told him, sorrow in his voice.

"J-Jai is D-dead?" he choked out.

"Yes." I squeaked out. "I'm the only one you've got."

He grabbed me again, squeezing me tightly, So tightly in fact, I thought I was going to pass out of oxygen deprivation.

"It's alright. You couldn't help it." he stroked my hair. I remembered Gray was there and wriggled away. He laughed, noticing my absence.

"You always tried to look tough in front of others." he laughed.

"Erm, this is off topic, but I need to know something. Gray told me this morning Eisenwald was ordered under the magic council to disband. Do you know why that happened all of a sudden?" I asked him, the memory not fading from my mind.

"I do know. There's something you ought' to know though Sophie before I tell you." he told me.

"What? What do I need to know?" I prodded him, eager to find everything out.

"I'm a member of the newly elected magic council. I heard about everything that happened yesterday at your guild. I know how you had been, "killed" by those members. In fact, I was the one who originated the idea for the sudden disbanding of Eisenwald." he admitted, his gaze full of mischief.

"Y-you-" I choked out.

"You're a member of the magic council?" Gray stared in disbelief.

Jaxon just nodded.

"You're the one who disbanded them?" I breathed out.

Jaxon nodded again.

I laughed quietly. "To think, my own father, who thought I was dead, ended up saving my life."

Jaxon's gaze clouded in confusion. "Saving your life?" he asked.

"Sophie hasn't been acting right for the past days, she's become scared of a lot of things, scared to even enter the guild hall in fear of somebody attacking her. She's been having nightmares as well." Gray explained to him.

"I'm sorry you've had to go through that. I am. I wish I could've been there to save you." he apologized.

"It's quite alright. It made me stronger than I used to be. And I don't want this to affect either of us. We should just keep things as they are. Of course you're welcome to visit anytime. I'd gladly welcome you." Sophie told him, standing up. Jaxon nodded. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of you being a great wizard Sophie. I agree with you completely. Fight me sometime though. I'd love to see how good you've gotten."

"Of course. I'd love to spar sometime." I agreed.

We all stood up. I gave Jaxon another hug.

"Goodbye, father." I whispered to him.

"Goodbye, daughter." he whispered back.

He turned, walking away, leaving Gray and I in his wake.

I stared after him, holding my breath. I was still in shock at everything that had happened. Gray grasped my hand in his. I didn't even notice until I started walking. I glanced down at our now entwined fingers. I gave a small smile. I walked back to the guild with him, still thinking about Jaxon, no, my father.

*** time skip brought to you by Loke's glasses ***

The day went by quite slowly afterwards. I decided to leave the guild early, so I could spend some time alone. I entrusted Aurora to the other Exceeds, so she wouldn't bother me. I sat cross-legged on my bed. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. I lay down on my back, trying to go to sleep. I had gotten up early today, and wanted to catch up on my sleep. I couldn't sleep though. I keep thinking about this morning, how all those awful memories of my past suddenly came back to me.

"Why did that happen?" I thought, sitting up again. Did it have something to do with the news of Eisenwald's disband? Was It the nightmare I had last night? I shuddered at the remembrance of my nightmare. Watching in horror as all my guild mates were savagely beaten. I wasn't able to move, powerless to help. All I could do was watch. I woke up right when somebody approached me, their face covered by a hood. They snickered at me, kicking me in the ribs so harshly, I thought they had broken them.

"Is that what mother and Jai were telling me about?" I gasped, recalling my mother's words.

"No!" I covered my mouth, denying the idea instantly. "Nothing's out there to hurt me. That can't happen. Eisenwald is through. They were all arrested or tossed out."

I lay down again, my head still spinning with thoughts. I kept repeating to myself over and over, "That can't happen. Eisenwald is through. They were all arrested or tossed out." I eventually drifted off to sleep, my reassurance doing nothing to calm my nerves.

**AN: Well, how was it? I really rushed the ending, and I'm sorry if it sucks. I got back from my convention WAY later than I thought. I expected to be back around 4:00, but ended up arriving home at 6:00. I started this chapter last night, and am finishing this one at 6:10. So everything written after the final time skip was done in 10 minutes, which is probably why I don't like that part compared to the other parts. Oh well. The convention was amazing by the way! I got a few posters and artwork. I got smoked in the Super Smash Bros tournament though. My boyfriend did pretty well though, but he didn't win. Oh Well! I hope you guys have a FABULOUS rest of your day. (or night for all you people reading this at night.)**

**I hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I did writing!**

**Don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and Review! Any type of feedback is most certainly welcomed with open arms!**

**So, Until Next Time!**

**-springtimesadness.**

**(By the way, A few OC'S are yet to be introduced. They will appear in about 2 chapters. A few won't be shown since they were submitted late and I already had my 5. If you were messaged back by me for any reason, your OC will most likely be shown then.)**


	12. The Flirt

**AN: Hello Everybody! Spring has arrived! I hope you all are having a FABULOUS day so far! I hope you guys are in the reading mood since I'm in the writing mood! Before I go on, I would like to stop and thank these users.**

**Drawknight**

**Emerald Dynamo**

**Nightingaledric666**

**Rex the wolf**

**XxXKiaAmaratsuXxX**

**XxbloodprincessxX**

**Mae Ride**

**These 7 people have followed and/or favorited this story. You've given me the motivation to get up and write, whether I want to or not. Even though it's small number compared to others, and there still aren't any reviews, it still means the world to me. When I see that somebody has favorited or followed this story, or me as an author, it brings an unimaginable amount of joy into my heart! You guys are awesome. Seriously. You are awesome.**

**Still no reminders today, other than there's a new fairy tail story emerging to the world of springtimesadness. Which, actually, is not sad at all. It's a fun place. I only chose this name based around the song, "Summer Time Sadness" which I loved at the time. I eventually changed it to SPRINGtimesadness, but, y'all don't care about my personal life. Or do you? It's starting off as a one-shot, but if the story is perceived well by you guys, I'll make it a chapter fic. Go check it out! **

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I do writing! Enjoy!**

*~*~*~*~ SOPHIE'S P.O.V. ~*~*~*~*

"Are you happy now? What does this prove?" Medo snarled at me, malice in her eyes.

I blinked away the memory, trying to ward off the phrase that had been haunting me for the past few months. It's been almost 7 months since I've joined Fairy

Tail. I guess they were right. Time does fly when you're having fun. I really felt happy here. Much happier than I'd ever been. The energy was still as abundant as ever. I would never get tired of walking in to a fight. I'll admit I had joined in on a few. I liked fighting now that Natsu had been schooling me on the subject of Dragon-Slayer magic. I was still getting used to it, both physically and emotionally. I still hadn't gotten over my fear of the past yet. After several days of arguing, Aurora finally gave up consoling me. To her, I was beyond help. I would need to conquer my demons by myself. In my defense, my fears had eased. I could actually enter the guild now with out stopping at the door and freaking out in fear of what could be beyond it. I had spent several portions of my down time with my father, Jaxon, including sparring together. We were quite evenly matched, although he'd win more matches than I.

The only thing that would ever freeze me in my tracks in fear, was Medo's snarls.

I would always hear that one phrase over and over again. You'd think I'd be used to it, but I hadn't one bit. Every time it would hiss at me, I would instantly freeze in terror, dropping whatever I was doing to tremble at the memory. I had to tell myself that it was a good thing she was dead, for now she couldn't harm anybody anymore.

Right now, I'm at Fairy Tail, staring at the job request board, looking for a mission to do solo. I had done several missions with Aurora, who was now a full-fledged Fairy Tail member. I did the occasional with Gray, but he was busy with his team most of the time. They had asked me to join their team, but I declined instantly. Team Natsu already had 2 dragon-slayers, and the team consisted of 7 people already, counting Happy and Carla. I liked working alone though. It gave me time to clear my head. I flickered my gaze around the board, looking for a job to catch my eye. Aurora was on my shoulder, searching as well, steering clear of any dark guild demolishing requests, based on my past.

"How about this one?" she asked, holding up a piece of parchment.

I took the paper from her small paws, glancing at it.

"Defeat a trouble-some mage causing a ruckus in our town." I read. "Sounds good to me."

I handed the paper back to her, watching her scamper over towards Mira, handing it to her. She smiled in my direction, giving a thumbs-up. I nodded back, leaving the guild, Aurora on my heels.

"Where are we going anyways?" I asked her.

"Oak Town I believe." Aurora mused, holding a paw to her chin.

"2 for Oak Town, please." I told the staff member in charge of ticket distribution.

She typed a few digits into a computer monitor, print out tickets for the two of us.

We quickly payed, boarding the train with our small amount off luggage.

I sat in a booth, Aurora seated quietly on my lap. We didn't talk much as we waited for the train to depart. We liked the silence, it had a calming factor.

"Excuse me, sorry, pardon me!" a voice apologized, maneuvering it's way towards Aurora and I.

"Why hello there Sophie!" an oh-so familiar voice cheerfully greeted me. Jaxon!

"Dad!" I smiled brightly, pulling him into a hug.

"How have you been? It's been a few months." he asked, seating himself across from Aurora and I.

"I'm doing okay, thanks for asking." I nodded. His eye caught Aurora.

"What's that you've got there? A cat? Why is it purple?" he fired off questions directed at Aurora. I recalled that my father had never actually met Aurora. I had kept the two away from each other for several months, in fear that she would remind him of my deceased mother.

"This is Aurora. Aurora, this is my father, Jaxon." I introduced the two to each other.

"Hi There Sophie's dad!" Aurora smiled, extending a paw. All the color from Jaxon's face drained.

"Did that cat just talk?" he stammered out.

"Yep. Aurora's an Exceed. Many dragon-slayer magic users have em'." I explained. "She was originally mom's though." I added wistfully.

"Ah, I see." my father said, regaining his composure. "Where are you two ladies off to then?" he asked, leaning back a bit in his chair.

"Oak Town. We accepted a job request to eliminate a troublesome mage.. And yourself?" Jaxon just smiled at me. He pulled out a flyer.

"Is this the job you two are off to?" he raised a brow. I yanked the flyer from his hand, examining it with slanted eyes.

"Impossible! How did you get this?" I shrieked a little too loudly.

"I was just contacted by the client. I had no idea they were offering it to guilds as well." he shrugged his shoulders. I stared at the piece of parchment in my hands.

"Well then, does this mean a father-daughter team up?" Aurora asked shyly.

"I guess it does!" Jaxon laughed.

"Great." I muttered. One more thing to worry about.

The train started rumbling forward, I was thrown onto Jaxon just like last time.

"Sorry!" I apologized, regaining my composure.

"It's quite alright." he said, smoothing his pants.

I sat back in my original seat, Aurora hopping back on my lap.

It was quite a talkative train ride. Aurora wanted to know everything she could about my mother, and who better to ask than Jaxon. We spend what seemed like hours discussing her appearance, personality, likes, dislikes, you name it. Overall, the whole conversation was one to bring back memories. It tugged slightly at my heartstrings, but I needed to take Aurora's advice a focus on the future. After about an hour and a half of train riding, the rain screeched to a halt in Oak Town Station. I flew out of my seat once again, Jaxon, extending his arms to brace for my impact.

"Sorry." I breathed, rubbing my head in shame.

"It's fine. Let's go shall we?" he said eagerly. He reminded me of a child on Christmas morning, he sounded so eager.

I grabbed my luggage, racing out after him, Aurora flying next to me. We quickly checked into a hotel, getting separate rooms. We placed our luggage in our room, agreeing to meet each other in an hour at the desired location. I sat on my bed, looking in the body-length mirror across from me. I stared for what seemed like eternity. As my eyes traveled over my reflection, I couldn't help to think back to my meeting in heaven with mother and Jai. It had been a little over 7 months since our short-lived reunion. They had warned me of something dangerous coming that I needed to be alive to stop. It had been so long though, was it really a bluff on their part to keep me alive? I got up, changing into a teal colored skirt, and a plain, black sleeved shirt. I pulled on some boots, deciding to go for a walk to clear my head. Aurora wanted to stay back and sleep. I didn't blame her, she seemed to always be doing something energy-consuming, I was surprised on how she was pulling it all off. I closed the door behind me, walking out of the hotel. I turned down several streets, breathing in the fascinating scenery. I felt a slight breeze blow through my thick pink hair. I sat down at a outdoor patio café, ordering a small cup of hot chocolate. The taste of coffee disgusted me, I much rather preferred hot chocolate over it. I sat, drinking the hot beverage, letting the slight breeze travel through my hair. I closed my eyes, taking it all in. A cool breeze kept blowing through the town, reminding me that winter was going to be arriving any day now. "What an extraordinary year it has been so far." I thought to myself. I felt a slight tap on my shoulder, I turned my head to see a boy who looked about my age staring at me with the most beautiful shade of blue eyes I'd ever seen.

"Excuse me miss, but I couldn't help but admire your beauty from afar, I just had to meet you." he told me in a smooth voice.

"Great. A flirt." I thought to myself. All I wanted was one peaceful walk.

"Erm. Thank you, but I'm currently taken." I told him, remembering Gray.

"Bet he's not as wonderful as me though. Does he tell you sweet things like I do?" he boasted, puffing out his chest.

"No, but he's a hell of a lot less desperate than yourself." I shot back.

"Feisty are we eh'?" he said pulling me into an embrace.

"Whaaat are you doing?" I said, pulling away from him.

"Come on babe, don't be like that!" he said, reaching for my arm, successfully grabbing it. I squirmed in his grasp, trying to free myself. This guy was annoying as hell.

"Let go of me asshole!" I screamed, kicking him in the leg. It wasn't much, but it distracted him enough for me to squirm away. The breeze blew through again, swaying my skirt just enough for my Fairy Tail mark to come into view.

"A mage eh? You're really something babe." he chuckled.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" I hissed, letting light absorb my hands.

"Oh, a light mage. Wonderful, I didn't want to fight a lady as beautiful as you, but I'll do whatever it takes to make you mine." he smirked at me, not taking his eyes off. I rolled my eyes. This was pathetic, he was worse than Lucy's celestial spirits, Loke and Taurus. I swung a punch directly to the side of his head. He staggered backwards as the impact stunned him.

"You pack quite the punch babe. I'm proud. Beautiful and Strong, it's what I look for in a girl." he slurred, regaining himself.

He let a black-colored aura engulf his hands. Thinking back to the job request's description of the trouble-some mage, this man described it perfectly.

"BLINDING LIGHT!" I shot, hitting him in the head, temporarily blinding him.

As shriveling in pain, I sent a whip-kick to the side of his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

"LIGHT DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" I sent another punch at him, catching him in the stomach.

"Oh, A dragon-slayer. You are a work of art babe, I'll just try harder. I'll do anything to make you mine. Dark Wave." the man growled, shooting magic at me. I attempted to side-step it, but the burst grazed my left side, causing a searing pain to numb it.

"Dark Ray." he hissed again, holding his head with his left hand, the other raised slightly. As the beam hit, I staggered back a few steps, clutching my left side.

"Dark Grasp." I felt as if I was being choked, in fact, I WAS being choked.

I let out a strangled choke, begging for help. Everyone in the area had fled the scene, in danger of being harmed by this fight.

"Let… Me… Go!" I screeched, trying to land a few hits with my fists and feet.

Each attempt at my freedom failed.

"Don't tell me this is the strength of a dragon-slayer. You're pathetic." he rolled his eyes.

I gasped for air, as the edges of my eyes were blackening. Just as I thought I wasn't going to be able to make it, I fell to the ground in a heap, gulping air down into my lungs.

"Do you really think I'd let a face as beautiful as yours go to waste?" he laughed.

"I'LL SHOW YOU THE POWER OF A DRAGON-SLAYER IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" I screamed at him, recovered from the whole choking incident.

"DAZZLING WHIRLWIND OF THE LIGHT DRAGON!" I spun around creating a whirlwind type light. I simultaneously shot out waves of sparkling light at my opponent. He entire body was pierced by each shot, knocking him to the ground. As he lay gasping for air, I walked over to his side, crouching down next to him.

"You know, for a wanted criminal, you're pathetic you know." I mocked, repeating what he had called me.

"It was an honor to be beaten by a woman as beautiful as you miss." he said, stars in his eyes.

"Can it." I snapped, my eyes narrowing with annoyance. I placed my foot on his chest, preventing him from getting up.

"Sophie!" A voice called out from behind me. I turned my head to see Jaxon and Aurora charging towards me, concern radiating from them.

"Are you alright?" Jaxon asked, checking me for wounds.

"Nah, I'm just ruffled up a bit. By the way, I just took down the mage we were supposed to be after. Sorry you didn't get to fight with me, but believe me, he's as annoying as hell." I scoffed, glancing at the man on the cobblestone.

"That's a beautiful name you have, Sophie." he said, wonder still twinkling in his eyes.

"Give it a rest. I'm taken, remember?" I snapped, pushing my foot harder into his chest. He began gasping for air. I lifted my foot a bit, allowing small portions of air to enter his lungs.

"Let's go turn him in, shall we?" I asked, stepping off of the man's chest.

"It's alright, I'll take him in myself, you and Aurora can go home early." Jaxon said, picking the man up by the collar of his shirt.

I glanced uneasily at him, "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, go home Sophie. I'll be fine." he smiled, nodding his head.

"Alright then, we'll be going. Take care." I waved, walking away, Aurora on my heels.

***time skip brought to you by Laxus's headphone-thingies* **

"How was the job Sophie?" Gray asked me, taking a seat across from me at a table.

"Let's see, I teamed up with my father, went for a walk, was the romantic target of a very annoying, flirtatious mage, fought against him solo, beat him, and left early with Aurora." I recalled, resting my chin in my palms.

"Sounds fun." Gray said, leaning back in his chair.

"Sure." I scoffed playfully, letting out a small smile. "Do you wanna go for a walk around the town?"

"Alright." Gray shrugged his shoulders, standing up from the table. I felt Juvia's presence behind me, seething with rage. She still couldn't get over the fact on how close the 2 of us had become. If she would get mad when someone asked him a question, just imagine how she acts when he's coming over to my house, sitting next to me, doing occasional jobs with me, anything like that.

"Gray, your clothes." I pointed out to him.

"ARGH!" he cried out, scrambling around for his lost clothing articles. I had learned to get used to Gray's constant stripping habit, sure it came as a surprise every now and then, but it didn't bug me as much as it used to. After finding his clothes, he walked back over to me.

"Ready to go then?" I asked him. He just dipped his head in response.

I opened the doors to the guild, exiting quietly, Gray right behind me. We turned down many streets, passing many places I hadn't been familiar with. A cool breeze blew through, causing a chill to surge through me. I glanced up at the sky. A slight, steady fall of crystalline snowflakes were falling from the sky, dotting the ground with flecks of white. I stuck my tongue out, trying to catch one on my tongue like a little child would. Gray snickered next to me.

"What?" I retorted, noticing his laughter.

"You're really a child at heart you know?" he said, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"Hey! You've been around snow your whole life! I've been shut away for a huge chunk of mine! I haven't truly experienced snow in years!" I laughed, sticking my tongue out again.

"Brrr!" I shivered, digging into my bag, pulling out a white scarf and beanie. I wrapped the scarf around my neck, and put the beanie on my head. I hugged my arms together, it was too cold for me.

"Aren't you freezing?!" I asked Gray, who's shirt had mysteriously vanished.

"Nah, the cold doesn't really bother me, being an ice mage and all." he shrugged.

"Here, my house is close by! Let's go there!" I cheered, finally being relieved of the frigid breezes blowing through Magnolia. I ran up to my doorstep, quickly unlocking the door, running inside. I made some hot chocolate for Gray and myself, and we sat together on the couch. I pulled a thick, fuzzy blanket over my body, snuggling into it's warmth.

"You're not a fan of the cold I see." Gray laughed quietly.

"Well, I don't like how I get cold because of it, but otherwise, I think winter's the prettiest season of them all." I explained, sipping more hot chocolate from the mug. I let out a massive yawn, stretching my arms wide. I felt drowsy as my eyes heavily closed, allowing me to slip into a deep slumber. I felt my head graze something, the next thing I knew, Gray had my head cradled against his chest, and I was fast asleep.

**AN: Hello Again! I hope this chapter was okay, it was fun to write in the beginning, but I was stressing out over the ending, constantly deleting and rewriting it over and over again until I came up with something to satisfy myself. I think it's a good place to leave off for now. Speaking of which, the updates for this story will be pushed back drastically for a short period of time, lasting for about 2 weeks. The reason for this is to launch a bunch more stories onto my profile so I can have lots more to work with other than just 2. School is staring in 2 weeks, but I also have volleyball tryouts this Wednesday, so I'll be away for a bit practicing for that. I hope to begin new stories very soon, and I've already published one called, "Prima." if you want to check that out. It's starting as a one-shot, but I'll turn it into a chapter fic if the feedback is good for it. **

**Anyways, enough rambling, don't forget to Follow, Favorite, and Review!**

**Until Next Time,**

**-springtimesadness **


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